Somewhere Only We Know
by Imagination Is A Gift
Summary: The Mikaelson siblings are separated and scattered across the world. Devastated by the loss of their family, they find themselves falling back into the arms of old loves, and new ones that they were never expecting. Could this be the chance they never got, or with this be the ending they need? Set after TO 4X13. Klaroline, Kalijah, Kennett with background Rebel and Freelin.
1. Caroline

**AN: So I was watching The Originals 5x11, at Freya and Keelin's wedding. And Elijah and Klaus didn't have a date. And my trash-ass was like "Hey! Klaroline and Kalijah!" And then I was like "Hey! Kennett!" And this just sort of happened. Set after TO Season 4, but I've made adjustments to canon. (Mainly, Stefan isn't dead bc Katherine didn't need to die. Klaus can be with his daughter because Freya took the magic instead.) Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Caroline**

Caroline wondered if her emotions had turned themselves off without her even noticing. Perhaps her humanity had just had enough of her and ran away. Because she felt nothing, but it wasn't intentional.

No, she'd had her humanity off and this felt different. She still loved her daughters with all her heart; she still had this urge to do the right thing. But she wasn't crying, and she should be. Stefan looked like he might. Caroline just felt hollow. Empty.

Maybe not humanity-less, but miserably depressed.

Her pen hovered over the paper for just a few seconds before she took a deep breath and reminded herself to be strong. Then she signed it and slipped it across to Stefan, who signed it as well.

"So… that's it?" She asked. They sat alone, just the two of them. They'd decided against bringing lawyers to the table but the room was bussing with them, if they were needed.

"We are officially divorced," Stefan said with a nod.

What the hell did she say now?!

They both loved each other very much, but after he was cured and human… it was never going to work out between them. They only went through with the wedding to try and lure Katherine out and kill her, but the bitch only wanted her freedom so the ceremony was wasted.

"You have been one of the best friends I've ever had," she admitted, honestly.

"You too, Caroline," Stefan returned. He picked up the stack of papers and got to his feet, nodding to one of the lawyers waiting for them. "I'll take these to the office."

Caroline stood up as well and hung her bag from her shoulder. "Have a nice human life, Stefan," she said, kissing his cheek before walking past him and heading for the glass doors. Every muscle in her neck was twitching, trying to get her to turn around and see him again.

But she couldn't look back. Only partly because her eyes started to heat up like she might cry, but partly because not looking back was the first step of moving forward.

The second step? Buy two bottles of wine and sit on the top of a hill, overlooking the lights of the town and trying to forget she was still alive.

She turned her phone on silent and drank straight from the bottle as the afternoon turned to evening. For so long, Stefan had seemed like her endgame. The man who might actually stay with her. Matt left, Tyler left, Alaric… well that was never a real relationship if she was honest, but she was still pissed that it ended. There was no constant. And now even her damn husband was gone.

She missed two calls from Elena when she checked her phone, that she decided not to return. She felt for Elena right now, she was going through the same thing with Damon – he was still a vampire, not willing to kill his brother to be human with Elena, and it wasn't going to work out from there.

However, Caroline's paranoid little mind couldn't help but wonder if it was Elena's humanity and return that made Stefan become so distant. They were the humans. It was them that kept finding their way back to each other. Elena was Stefan's constant, not Caroline.

So, hours after signing her divorce papers, Caroline didn't really _feel_ like talking to her right now.

Caroline checked the time and frowned. Five o'clock. She should probably be getting back to have dinner with Josie and Lizzie and put them to bed. She'd left it to Alaric last night and she didn't want her daughters to start asking where she was.

She got to her feet and realised just how tipsy she was. That tree was definitely swaying. Ah well, it would wear off soon. Vampires had killer tolerance. But she hoped she wasn't walking weirdly and passers-by thought she was a wino.

She reached the narrow road and stumbled slightly, giggling at how ironic that was. She walked a few feet, trying not to sway when a car pulled up next to her.

"Hey, need a ride?"

She turned and narrowed her eyes to make out the person in the drivers seat. Brunette, gorgeous, cardigan- Elena! Wait, no. When her vision focused she saw the more prominent cheek bones, lighter eyes and skinnier fingers. Hayley.

"My car…" Caroline started, gesturing some way down the road.

"I'll go back and pick it up when I get you home," Hayley offered.

Caroline considered it for a second before shrugging and getting into the passenger seat. "Okay, but don't snap my neck again."

"I promise."

They only drove for about a mile when Hayley asked: "Are you going to tell me why there are two empty wine bottles poking out of your bag?"

Caroline giggled. What a silly question. "I need to pee," she informed her.

Hayley laughed. "Yeah, I can imagine. What's going on?"

"Today was D-Day," Caroline said.

"D for Doom?"

"D for divorce papers," she explained. "Stefan and I are caput."

Hayley's face fell. "Oh, Caroline, I'm sorry."

"It is what it is," Caroline said, clearly stating she didn't want to talk any more about it. "It just sucks, you know?!" She exclaimed, changing her mind. "Like, okay, so I was engaged to Alaric and then we didn't work out because I loved Stefan and then Stefan proposed, and then we broke up, and then we got married anyway to lure out an enemy who – hey! – didn't even want to kill us anyway so I guess it was wasted. And I knew it wouldn't work out because he's human and I'm a vampire and Elena's living just around the corner, but the thing is this: I have that feeling with absolutely every guy. No one stays."

Hayley looked appalled. "Caroline, don't say that."

"No it's true," Caroline said. "You don't understand. Your husband would have done anything for you. He adored you. And Elijah was in love with you, and Tyler wanted you while he was with me, and even Klaus, when he was pining after me he was sleeping with you."

"Tyler never chose me over you," Hayley pointed out. "He loved you. So did Stefan, and Alaric would have stayed with you until his dying breath if you'd let him."

There was a pause. "And Klaus-"

"Hayley," Caroline interrupted, holding a finger up. "If I promise to stop feeling sorry for myself, can we skip this conversation?"

"Please."

They were silent for the rest of the way back until Hayley pulled up outside the Salvatore Boarding School and pulled the handbrake.

"How'd you feel?" Hayley asked.

"Sober," Caroline said, opening the door and getting out. "Don't worry about my car, I'll get it tomorrow morning."

There she was. Home.

She wished she could call any other place on this Earth 'home.'

But unfortunate, she had to walk through the same living room that she and Stefan shared, planning their wedding and dancing drunk. They had sex in front of that fireplace. They cooked dinner together in that kitchen. They ran up those stairs to their bedroom. Now it was her bedroom. She slept in the bed they shared and it still smelled like him. It shouldn't do. But it did.

#

The next morning was a busy day in the Salvatore Boarding School. The kids were finishing their first term of the year and parents were coming by to collect them. Each parent had a set parent/teacher appointment that day as well, while their kids were just packing up. Caroline did half, Alaric did half.

She knew every student by name, easy, but she had their folders on her desk anyway, in case she forgot anything she needed to tell them.

"Aidan's a wonderful kid, good grades, gets along with the other children. There was an incident last week where he bit his classmate but we had a cure on hand. Next term we're going to put him in our anger-management cause. No this isn't bad, most werewolves take it at some point-"

"Yes, Claire's doing so well with her hex classes, and she's learning really fast. Unfortunately, there is something to be said about how often she practises on teachers when they give her a B-"

"Ken's doing great at controlling his magic, no incidents with the other children or teachers, but his grades are slipping so can you just make sure he's getting his homework done this break, and if it continues we'll consider pairing him with a tutor-"

She stacked her files in order of done and undone, and leaned back in her chair while her office was empty, taking advantage of having a minute for herself. She sipped her water and looked out the window for a minute at all the supernatural beings leaving for home. Then she checked which child she had next.

Hope Mikaelson.

Oh damn.

She flicked through the girls file for a minute and walked to her door, opening it and turning right to the cue of parents. Klaus was in the front, reading something on his phone which he lowered when he saw her.

"Hi, come on in," she greeted with a smile.

Don't say it, she prayed internally.

She closed the door behind them and they took a seat around her desk as she opened the file. "Where's Hayley this morning? I thought I'd be seeing the both of you."

Don't say it.

"She and Hope are looking at nearby houses for sale," Klaus explained, leaning back in the chair and resting one ankle on his knee, getting very comfortable in her office which made her frown. "The mansion my siblings and I used to inhabit is apparently not suitable for a small child. Plus, I made it for my siblings, who can't be here with us."

Caroline nodded, sighing to herself. "Yeah, I was sorry to hear that. So, Hope seems to be settling in alright so far-"

Don't say it.

"She seems to be making friends alright with other witches, but we have some other werewolf kids I'd like to get her to start playing with next semester-"

Don't say it.

"It's always good for them to have people to relate to, so I've mixed up her classes' seating charts to encourage this."

"Caroline," Klaus said, when her sentence came to a close. "Can I just say how sorry I am to hear about your divorce."

Damn, he said it.

Liar. He was probably thrilled.

"Hayley told you," Caroline determined. "Well, I see there's no sense of loyalty in adult female friendships these days. Look, can we just keep this meeting professional, please? I don't need to talk about this with you. Anyway, like I was saying, Hope's grades are getting off to a good start, and at her age we don't really need to monitor them and we don't set homework yet- what?"

Klaus was laughing.

Bastard.

"Sweetheart, you can't pretend you don't know me," he explained. "You're not just my daughter's headmistress. We were friends once."

"Well for the twenty minutes of this meeting, I am just your daughter's headmistress, okay?" Caroline declared. "Anyway, I was going to say I want to put Hope into Occult Studies to learn a bit more about vampirism in case any vampire traits start to show themselves – _this is my job_!" Klaus was still trying to stifle a laugh. "You understand? This is my career."

Klaus tried to pull a straight face but didn't manage and Caroline threw Hope's folder at him. "Stop laughing!" This just made him laugh harder. "Seriously, how is this so funny?"

"Sorry, sorry," Klaus said, somewhat sincerely. "It's just like old times."

She hid her smile and pulled a very serious face. "It's not funny," she repeated. "Now, can I continue?"

"Please."

"I wanted your opinion on whether Occult Studies would be a bit much for Hope to handle at this point in time, with her other lessons," she continued. "We could add a few extra hours a week onto her schedule, or because she's excelling in English, we could cut some of her lessons out and move her to Occult Studies-"

To be fair, she _did_ sound like she was trying too hard to be professional after all they'd been through. Out of all the things they could be talking about, what were the odds it ended up being his daughter?

"Okay, fine," she said, hiding her grin behind her hand. "Maybe it's a little funny. But maybe your laughter is just contagious."

"I'll try to behave," Klaus promised. "I think minimising her English sounds good for a while, we could also be very open to talking about vampirism at home. At this time, she's no stranger to it."

"Got it," Caroline said with a nod. "Has she thought about extracurricular? I think she could do really well in art." She smiled at Klaus then, knowing the passion was inherited.

"Sounds great," Klaus said with a nod. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, pass me her folder," Caroline said, trying not to smirk as Klaus collected up all the papers she'd thrown at him off his lap and gave them back to her to order. "Some parents were concerned about Hope becoming their kid's friend due to her background. I talked them into accepting it and I gave a few of them your phone number so they could arrange play dates and get to see the three of you work as a family. See for themselves that you're not so bad. Here's a list of parents, their information, a few things about their kid and their friendship with Hope."

She handed them a piece of paper and thanked God that they got through that meeting mostly like professionals.

"Of course, you'll have to convince them that you're just a happy family," she added.

"We can try," Klaus agreed, taking the list and skimming it. "But if their prejudice affects my child's happiness in anyway-"

"It won't," Caroline promised. "I won't let it, but you need to be open. Members of the community, you know? Let them in so they're not afraid of you."

She got out of her seat as she spoke and walked around her desk to open the door, gesturing at Klaus to leave. He did so, but lingered in the doorway for a second, inches away from her and waited like he wanted to say more, he just had to find the words. But eventually, he gave up and left her alone.

Back at her desk the only files left were those of her own daughters which she just had to review sometime over the next few days. Now though, she took this opportunity for another break. Because even the smallest bit of work was exhausting.

She texted Alaric: _Can the girls stay at yours tonight? I need some time alone to breathe._

He obliged. And when every child left to go home, Alaric went back to his apartment with their daughters, and Caroline was left in that big old house that she'd once shared with Stefan.

Her car was parked outside, probably thanks to Hayley, and she took off for a drive, going past all the pretty sights Mystic Falls had and going in lanes faster than usual for the sake of it. She turned her music up as loud at it would go and sang while she danced, trusting her faster instincts and reflexes to keep her safe past all the distractions.

#

The next few weeks were challenging for Caroline. She lost the person she loved the most, and she didn't have anywhere to go but his own home. She didn't want to sleep on Alaric's couch because she didn't want her kids knowing how much pain she was in and it wasn't exactly appropriate to sleep in his bed after all they'd been through.

So she spent most of her time in her office, going through paperwork and compiling a thoroughly detailed action plan for each individual child that would make them happiest at their school. She interviewed three candidates for a teaching position, signed for packages of jars, herbs and candles for the witches, restocked the basement full of blood bags for the vampires and caught up with all of her old friends, convincing them that she was doing just fine.

She went to Alaric's every evening to have dinner with her kids and read them a bedtime story.

She also hunted for three-bedroom apartments – God forbid Josie and Lizzie share a bedroom – and toured a few places with her girls to see what they thought. She also bought a new car because she could and took her kids on a hectic trip to IKEA which resulted in one of the fake kitchens being burned down and three employees losing their jobs.

Which meant that school couldn't have restarted any later.

While stressed about all the kids and preteens flooding into her school on the first day, Caroline couldn't help but be glad about it. It meant she wasn't lonely in that building anymore.

Although she spent most of the day inside, trying to avoid one particular parent. He found her nonetheless.

She let her guard down for a second to watch Lizzie and Josie run around and play with Hope, and in a second he had appeared over her shoulder to speak in her ear.

"Don't you think it's a coincidence," he mused, "that the first two vampires ever able to procreate happen to know each other intimately and both had their children within two years of one another?"

Caroline rolled her eyes, pushing him away with her elbow. "First of all, we don't know each other intimately. Second of all, technically I didn't procreate in the conventional sense. Biologically, the girls aren't mine."

Klaus looked appalled at this thought. "Are you to tell me your head doesn't get heavy and full with worry the minute they're in hot water? You mean to say that your heart doesn't skip a beat when you so much as see them? You're not filled with serotonin the moment they reach another milestone? The biology's all there, sweetheart. You're their mother."

She watched his lips move as he spoke before turning back to their girls.

"You know, last year I was in trouble," she informed him. "I was scared. I put the girls in the car and I drove to the only place I knew we'd be safe. New Orleans." She watched him as he looked surprised, which turned into a look of pride. "I mean, you weren't there. But I guess we're more than just a professional parent/teacher relationship."

There was a pause before Klaus replied: "I wish I was there, Caroline. I wish we all were. New Orleans was fantastic. I wish you had a real chance to know my family, see us at our best. There was and always will be space for you in my home."

Caroline turned away, looking anywhere but him. He had to bring up 'home' as if that wasn't a sensitive subject with her already. Her eyes were growing hot with emotion, which she didn't want him to pick up on. It was a stupid, throwaway comment. He'd made so many ones over the last nine eight years. Why was she getting emotional now?!

"Caroline?" Klaus asked, noticing this and pulling her arm to get her to face him.

"It's nothing," she said instantly. "It's stupid. It's just, um, _this_ ," she lied, gesturing to the parents and children in the room, "is getting to me. And it's been a rough few weeks, you know? Anyway, ignore me, I'm being silly."

"You're not silly," Klaus defended. "Stefan?"

Caroline met his eye again and nodded slowly.

The truth was, Stefan had promised that this would be her home. The big old boarding house. It would be theirs together. Now he left her there with her school. But it wasn't her home. She didn't exactly have one of those anymore. And how sad was it that the man who killed off so much of her town's population was the only man who cared about her?

"Caroline, when I last saw Stefan I told him that if he couldn't do right by you then to leave you. You might find that that's what he's trying to do," Klaus explained. He clearly didn't want to say the wrong thing or throw a stereotype at her. "For what it's worth, I am truly sorry."

This time she believed him. "Thank you."

"What I've learned over the last few years is that it doesn't matter who you are; someone out there will love you," he continued. "And I believe that many, many people will love you, sweetheart. In your case loneliness is a choice. And you may have lost a husband, but if you need a friend I'm here."

She went to say thank you again but didn't want to sound like a broken record, so she just smiled. And for the first time in a long time, it was genuine.

"A few years ago I would never have this talk with you," she claimed. "I mean, I know you liked me. But you were so scary. You've… changed. I like this Klaus."

"I don't think I've changed that much," Klaus denied.

"I do," she said, looking back to their daughters. "You're right, it is weird. But I guess it's a good thing because now they get to know each other. They're not alone in the… miracle baby boat."

Klaus smirked. "I'm glad."

"Caroline," Alaric called from across the room, carrying a large stack of paperwork. "I need you training the new teachers."

Caroline nodded at him and smiled again at Klaus before walking away in much better spirits.

#

A month passed and Caroline and Klaus had been texting. They didn't have too long to chat throughout the week as Caroline had a school to run and was constantly travelling to seek out troubled kids. But Klaus would text her every few days to check up on her. And their conversations would always go the same way.

 _Klaus: How are you feeling?_

 _Caroline: Good, thanks. You?_

 _Klaus: Hayley and I moved into the old mansion my family used to own._

 _Caroline: I'm sure Hope likes all the space to play._

 _Klaus: We're in all week if you need us to babysit._

Caroline would never admit this to anyone, but it made her raise an eyebrow when he said that. 'We'. She'd never really given much thought to it, but their last few conversations he'd been anything but flirty. He said he was there if she needed a friend. Now he lived with Hayley and their child together, and Hayley's last boyfriend was in France and her husband was dead. And it made total sense, actually. A mother and a father and a daughter. A _family_. Caroline and Alaric had been drawn to each other when they had the twins. They even got engaged.

What if Klaus and Hayley were an item? He used the royal 'we'. And they'd be cooped up in that big old house while Hope was at school.

Oh God, Klaus and Hayley.

Caroline didn't want to be in another relationship so soon – especially with Klaus.

Except that he was still hers! He was the only adult she could rely on. That she felt like she could truly trust. His texts always made her grin, his presence always cheered her up. He'd changed into a good, decent man. And Hayley had snatched that man up. Caroline was sure of it.

Caroline was taking the girls dress shopping in early December as she came to this realisation. And, as if on cue, she ran into the very trio she'd hoped to be avoiding.

They looked like such a _picture_. The handsome dad, the beautiful mom, and the daughter who was the spitting image of them both.

"Okay girls, one dress each, and it has to be pale green," Caroline instructed before letting her twins loose on the poor shop, doing a quick prayer for the retail assistants.

"Is that for the occasion I think it is?" Klaus mused, separating from Hayley and Hope to talk to her.

"Yeah, I was going to text you," Caroline informed him. "I mean, you knew I had an invitation, but Rebekah called me last night to ask if Lizzie and Josie wanted to be flower girls."

"They'll be positively adorable," Klaus claimed.

Caroline smiled. "Are you giving her away?"

"Well, I'm the only family that can make it," he confirmed. "Hayley's maid of honour. Hope, of course, won't be able to attend, but they've decided to facetime her in, and she insists on getting dressed up for the occasion."

"She can't go to her aunts wedding, the least you can do is buy her a pretty dress," she stated, looking over his shoulder at some of the ones Hayley and Hope were looking at. "I like that you get the shopping done early."

Klaus chuckled, as if this was amusing to him. "I have two sisters, Hayley, and over the last thousand years I've dated a number of women. It's my understanding that the dress needs to be bought early so it can be returned, exchanged, exchanged back, exchanged again and tailored twice before it can be worn."

Caroline giggled and nodded. "That's about right."

"So, Hayley and I were discussing this last night and I thought I'd ask a true Mystic Falls socialite," he mused, "at what age do they start going to real events? See, throughout the centuries, I've found that girls tend to show up at balls at age twelve to thirteen, as it was then their fathers would look into auctioning them off. However, that's not quite my intention."

Caroline laughed again. "Generally, High School. But it changes every year, so just figure out what the other parents are doing. You don't want Hope to be left out, trust me. Hope's at the Boarding School though, so about fourteen to fifteen."

"Wonderful, so I don't have to supply my home with a ballgown for each week for another seven years," Klaus determined.

"Mystic Falls isn't exactly influential on the map," she noted, "but at least we know how to party."

She wanted to say something else. But she didn't figure out what. And the silence lasted only a couple of seconds but it was long enough for Hayley to chime in and ask for Klaus's opinion on a dress Hope liked. Klaus re-joined them and they filled that perfect picture.

Lizzie and Josie ran into her, colliding hard with her legs. And while it made her heart skip a beat to see her children, they were unconventional and silly and messy. And they weren't the perfect picture that Caroline was only beginning to realise that she wanted.

Klaus was the one man who picked her before any of her friends. Who wasn't interested in Elena or Bonnie or Katherine first. He had wanted her. And she'd pushed him away so hard for so long that now, he was with someone else. Someone who was effortlessly beautiful and didn't even try…

"How about we try these ones on, girls?" Caroline asked, leading the twins to the changing rooms and trying to forget about it.

* * *

 **AN: No, Klaus is not dating Hayley, Caroline's just insecure. Please review. I'll see you next time. -Izzy**


	2. Elijah

**AN: Thanks for all the lovely reviews. Enjoy some Elijah.**

* * *

 **Elijah**

Some places in sweet Paris were just not realistic regular hang-outs for the locals. As beautiful as the attractions were, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Place de la Concorde, Arc de Triomphe (unless said Local was a thrill-seeker with a valid drivers license) and Notre Dame were completely unattainable to anybody who didn't want to be trampled by over-eager tourists who couldn't speak the language but assumed that a louder, slower English would be a suitable substitute.

Elijah couldn't bare them.

So he retreated to a narrow street one would usually find in a village or small town. However, it was a true beauty of the city and thankfully overlooked by tourists. They were truly missing out. The street was lined with Victorian architecture which had been modernized to charity shops, independent jewelers, tiny cafes and flats. The road was paved in cobblestones and mainly walked by pedestrians with cars and motorcycles being a rarity. The pavements were lined with large, colorful plants which attracted bees and filled the street with an enchanting aroma. Fairy lights hung from window to window, along with bunting flags which made a magical view come the evening.

And on the corner, right at the very bottom was a café bar, where Elijah could relax and enjoy the scenery, creating music so wonderful that the locals accepted him as part of the streets beauty. He provided the wonderous sounds that accompanied the sight.

They forgave him, of course, for the night he was distracted. They understood, in all fairness, that the exquisite beauty at the bar was worth the stares. Nobody could concentrate, really, while she sat there. Sipping a red wine and giggling at something the bartender was saying.

Elijah wanted to wring his neck out of pure jealousy.

When he finished his set, he frowned at the emptier-than-usual tip jar and stalked to the bar, ordering himself another whiskey and trying to force his gaze to remain focused. Not to drift to the woman.

But he couldn't help it. He couldn't help looking at her.

And she was looking right back at him.

"I liked that last song," she complimented. "Mendelssohn. You played it very well, but I believe it may have been a little too upbeat for this crowd."

Elijah looked around at the tables and observed his audience. A few people finding a place to retire here, two or three students dotted around, and dates. Couples on dates who were probably looking for something a bit more romantic.

"You're a musician?" He asked.

"I can appreciate the arts."

"But you don't play?"

"I really wouldn't dare." She finished her wine and ordered another. It arrived at the same time as his whiskey and he paid for both before she could even attempt to purchase her own drink.

"If it's skill that's stopping you then I'm afraid I'm disappointed," Elijah said. "I don't play accurately – anyone can play accurately, but I play with wonderful expression."

"Oscar Wilde," the woman credited. "Yes, let's all be sure to keep our science for life. But it's not skill. I can play fine. It's the sentiment behind the pieces. I don't mean it. And so I won't be able to do it any justice."

Elijah smirked. She was intelligent on more than just a basic level, she appreciated fine music and literature, she had the voice of an angel and she was truly a remarkable beauty. Almond shaped, deep brown eyes in olive color skin, brunette hair cascading in long brunette curls, draped in subtle but elegant silver jewelry. She wore a white blouse and burnt orange skirt, and it took him all his willpower to avoid staring at her long, tan legs.

"I'm Elijah," he introduced, holding his hand out.

"Katerina," she returned with a smile, taking his hand.

"Katerina," he repeated, planting a kiss on her knuckles. "Hello."

"So, do you play here often?" She asked, sipping her drink.

He nodded and thought back to when he first found this little bar. He'd woken up on a bus knowing only his name and nothing more and thought to look for work. But it was a little complicated given that he had no recollection of any past experience or education. He'd been denied at the door but had spotted the old, unused piano in the corner of the room, all dusty and out of tune. The man at the bar said he couldn't play it, but when Elijah asked again, he let him.

That's when he found the first of his abilities – the chance to mind control someone. To simply tell them what to do and watch them do it. Once he played, the bartender complimented his skill and Elijah said: _"It's a service that you want done and are willing to pay for."_

And thus, he landed his job.

"I do indeed," he told Katerina. "And yourself? Are you local?"

"I'm not really local anywhere," she claimed. "But I have property nearby, if that's what you're asking. I'm paying a visit to an old friend. His family is worried about him and I was in the neighbourhood so I thought I'd put their mind at ease."

"Close friend?" Elijah asked, once determining a few things about this woman. First of all, she was wealthy. If she owned property in Paris just to have a vacation home, she must have property elsewhere too. Second of all, she was in a complicated relationship with the man who she was visiting. He doubted any man who knew this woman could only be a friend but she didn't refer to him as a boyfriend or an ex.

"We were a long time ago," she said. "But now it's complicated." Bingo. "Have you ever had an ex that… you just forgot how much they meant to you? And then you see them again and realise how much you missed them."

"I can't say I have," he admitted. "Was he a good man?"

Please, let Katerina be treated well.

"The best," she claimed. "Buy me another glass of wine and when you finish your shift I'll tell you all my secrets."

Elijah checked the clock to see when his shift ended. Five minutes ago.

"I have time now," he offered.

They walked along the left bank of the river, under the lights of the city, that illuminated the dark sky and replaced the lack of stars.

They talked for hours. Katerina told him about the ex-boyfriend of hers, a man who was apparently noble, honest and kind. She told him how things got complicated with his family and there was no place for her in his life anymore. She told him about how she moved on but never realised how much she missed him. She also told him a little about her. How far away she was from home, but also how she hadn't been closer in a while.

"I haven't been to Bulgaria in years, of course," she told him. "I suppose if I'm going to be in Europe I should pass through." She really must be wealthy if she considered the journey from France to Bulgaria as something of a day trip just to pop in. "Where are you from?"

"I don't know," he admitted. He didn't want to freak her out but he also didn't want to lie. "I am an amnesiac it seems. No past before last month."

"Wow," she said, her expression becoming concerned. "I'm sorry. But you seem to be doing well for yourself. Considering."

"Well the generosity of the French is nothing to be underestimated," Elijah mused. "Apparently. I'm from somewhere in the States, considering this appalling accent of mine."

Katerina giggled. "I like it," she said. "You sound distinguished."

"I sound like a tourist."

"I suppose you are," she pointed out. "Should you ever find your family and go home."

"If I have family and a home," he added. "Nobody seems to be looking for me."

Katerina sighed. "You don't know that. I think I was looking for you." They reached a little bit of the river where absolutely no one was about and streetlights lit up their path. Katerina sat by the water and invited him to do the same. He did.

"Okay, so amnesia affects the long-term memory," she explained about an hour and a half later, as the moon shone bright above them. "The short-term memory is stuff you forget anyway. So the long term memory is split into three different parts: episodic, procedural and semantic memory. Usually you keep procedural memory and semantic memory, which is facts and actions. It's why you know languages and can play the piano. The only thing you forget is episodic memory, which is literally episodes from your life. Things that happen to you – people."

"You study psychology?" He asked.

"No, I just know a little of everything," she explained.

"It's still odd though, isn't it?" He asked. "I can speak more languages than I've taken the time to count, but I can't tell you my last name."

Katerina laughed again. He loved making her laugh. "I suppose it is," she allowed. "But you can remember your first name which is impressive. It's a nice first name."

When they started walking again, he walked her home. He wasn't surprised when she lead him to central Paris, to an apartment above a large shop where he suspected she had a brilliant view. They stopped outside her front door and she seemed very hesitant.

"Usually I would invite you in for a nightcap, but this… it feels different," she informed him. He immediately went to reassure her that he wasn't simply looking to be invited in and he wasn't expecting sex (even if he was beginning to think about it) and she deserved all the space she wanted, but she held up a hand to stop him before he could start. "Give me your phone."

He obliged and she was silent for a minute before handing it back to him. "My number's in there, and I have yours. Just, um… don't be a stranger, okay?"

#

Elijah didn't know the standard social protocol of calling someone he was… completely taken aback by – how long should he wait before doing it? What should he say? What would she say?

He sat in his studio the morning after their night together and his finger hovered over her name, trying to come up with a plan before calling her. However, before he could come up with a greeting, his finger called her without his permission.

"Most men wait about three days before calling," Katerina told him when she answered the phone.

"I'm not most men," he explained, smiling at the sound of her voice. "I enjoyed meeting you last night and wanted to invite you out… for dinner."

Dinner? _Dinner_? Subtle much? He cursed himself for saying dinner when he could have offered something much more casual but the damage was done now.

"Dinner?" Katerina repeated. Then there was a long silence at the end of the phone before she finally agreed. "Okay, dinner's fine. When?"

"Eight?" He asked, smiling to himself. "I can pick you up." He would need to use that mind control power to get a very large tip from work to afford it, but was he really using his powers for evil if he couldn't think of anything better than taking her out?

"I could cook," she suggested.

That. That was better.

"That sounds excellent," he agreed.

"Good," she said. "I'll see you at eight."

That day he went out and, for want of a better word, _compelled_ himself a new, more expensive shirt, which would have to go with his cleaned and ironed slacks. He showered, shaved, called in sick to work. He tried to get on with his errands like usual – feed, tidy his studio, practise his piano. But he was too distracted by his dinner.

Katerina was… remarkable. Somehow it felt like he'd always known her, like her she was a part of him. He didn't know anybody until he met her, almost literally. Something was drawing him to her like a moth to a flame.

Her apartment was gorgeous and had him wondering how wealthy she really was. The front door opened into an open plan living room and kitchen with light coloured walls and hardwood floors. It wasn't too large (as central Paris was expensive in its own right) but the chairs and couch were surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows which opened out onto a large balcony which wrapped around the room and overlooked some of the most beautiful streets of the city. He walked out on to it when he first arrived and noticed the tip of the Eiffel tower poking out from behind one of the more expensive buildings on the street. They were quite close to it.

Katerina told him the view was better from the bathroom and opened a door next to the kitchen, gesturing him to follow her, which he did. It led into her bedroom which was dimly lit with dark grey and navy walls with a few pieces of artwork hanging around. Aside from a small window on the wrong side of the apartment, it wasn't as open as the living room. The bed was luxurious with a mattress that looked a foot tall and covered in some of the thickets duvets and knitted throws he'd ever seen with far too many cushions. He wondered if her ability to get out of it every morning was an act of God himself.

Katerina kept walking until she opened another door opposite the window and let him into the bathroom. Opposite the door were thick burgundy curtains which he pulled aside to reveal a floor-to-ceiling window door. Beyond it was a tiny little balcony with the most incredible view. Aside from the corner of a building in the bottom right corner, he could see the Eiffel tower in all it's glory.

"This room is wasted as a bathroom," Elijah mused.

"I could have had the apartment upstairs which uses this view in the living room," she claimed. "But I preferred this bathroom. You'll get it soon."

"Explain it to me," he suggested, his eyes narrowing. She always said the strangest things about him, like she understood him more than he did. He supposed that wasn't hard considering he didn't know himself.

"You'll understand," she promised with a smirk.

While she served out the dish she made, duck-breast and gizzard with gooseberry, watercress and bergamot, they made idle chit-chat about where she learned how to cook and who taught her. She was very vague about when. But he was distracted anyway.

Her dish smelled delightful, but he could help but salivate over something else. He wondered what her blood tasted like. The smell of her veins was stronger than her food. He wondered if she would struggle or if she would let him. There was something enticing about having her in his strong arms, holding her in place as he drank from her and tasted her.

He tried his hardest to pull his mind back down to Earth but she was too tempting. He was distracted most of dinner before he realised he was a kind of hungry that her duck couldn't satisfy.

He'd have to wait until after dinner to go and feed. It wasn't fair to interrupt their date.

Just as he had this thought, their date was interrupted.

A woman in her mid to late twenties walked in, texting in one hand and carrying a clearly designer purse in the other. She seemed just as wealthy as Katerina but with very different taste. Instead of a blouse she had on a cashmere cardigan which hung stylishly off one shoulder and light-coloured jeans, giving off a more casual and less put-together appearance. However, she had the same coloured dark hair and sharp features which suggested a familial relationship. She started to say something to Katerina before looking up from her phone and noticing Elijah.

"So you're still on this?" She asked in a very thick European accent.

"Nadia," Katerina snapped, quite angrily. "Behave."

Nadia smirked, as if she and Katerina was sharing some inside joke. "I'll be in my room," she relented with a shrug. "He's not staying the night."

She stalked off and Katerina smiled to Elijah, rolling her eyes. "Sorry, my roommate's a bitch. She's right though, you shouldn't stay the night. Let's just finish our meal."

Once desert was over, Elijah thanked Katerina for her hospitality and left. He hadn't intended to stay the night upon arrival, but after leaving he wanted nothing more. He had this hunger inside of him for her. He wanted to spend the night in her bed, to feel her skin, to make her moan… to drink her blood.

He realised shortly after he left her building that it wasn't just sexual desire pulling him back to her touch but physical hunger. His fangs dropped from his gums and he ran his tongue over them quickly, trying to hide the veins he knew would shortly appear under his eyes.

Quickly, he grabbed a young gentleman off the street, covering his mouth and dragging him into the ally way. He forced the man to remain silent as he dug his teeth into his neck, drinking quickly and deeply before letting the body drop to the floor. The man was still alive, but barely. Elijah took a deep breath and released his fangs again to finish him off. Put him out of his misery.

"Elijah?" A soft voice called quietly from the end of the ally. "You left your keys."

He turned too quickly. His fangs were still exposed, the white of his eyes were red with blood that was noticeably flowing through his face. He'd quenched his thirst but he still longed to taste her blood.

"Do not be frightened," he pleaded, dropping the man's body and rising to his feet. He felt cooling blood dripping down his chin. "I'll bring you no harm."

"Oh, Elijah," Katerina sang, so calmly and even… pityingly. "You poor thing. I didn't think. Of course, you don't know."

"Know what?" He asked, his eyebrows knitting together. He stepped towards her, away from the body. She obviously wasn't frightened of him, so obviously she was insane. Or, maybe, she was like him.

"What you are," she answered. "And what happened to you."

"What happened to me?"

Katerina paused, sighing before answering. "Well, you died. And someone saved you. Vampires don't just exist in stories."

Elijah knew, of course. He'd figured that much out for himself when he first felt the desire to taste blood. He wasn't just a cannibal. Regular cannibals didn't drop fangs and bite the neck. But actually hearing someone say it, explain it as if it was the most rational thing in the world was odd at best.

"Is there a cure?" He asked.

Katerina smirked again, obviously trying to hide true laughter. Once again there was some sort of inside joke that he wasn't in on.

"Trust me, you don't want one," she claimed.

"So I should enjoy this?" Elijah demanded.

"Yes." Katerina closed the distance between them and rested her hands on his arms, comforting him. "You have unbelievable gifts. It's not just about blood, it's about immortality. Power. And everything you feel is heightened. No one loves like a vampire."

"But to have to kill people," Elijah reminded her, "is not exactly ideal."

Katerina looked over his shoulder at the dying man and then back to Elijah.

"Don't kill them, then," she suggested. "Here." She took the keys that he'd left in her apartment and held one up for him to see. Then she took his hand, exposing his wrist, and sliced it down the middle. "Feed him."

"What is this?" He demanded.

She linked her fingers through his and lead him back to the man, kneeling by his head and encouraging him to join. She positioned his bleeding wrist over the man's face and repeated herself.

"Feed him."

After a moment's hesitation, Elijah put his wrist to the man's mouth and let his blood drip into his mouth. Colour returned to his face, life returned to his body and the man woke up. Elijah had to cover his mouth again to keep him from screaming.

"Forget you saw us here today," he ordered. "Leave."

The man did so, his eyes going blank.

"So you learned about compulsion," Katerina noticed. "If you were to kill that man now, he'd wake up as a vampire. He'd need to drink human blood otherwise he'd die. And that's how vampires are made."

"And you?" Elijah asked. She had stood up but he remained knelt, feeling a little too lightheaded to stand.

Katerina paused, looking down on him and crossing her arms. "I hung myself in 1492. I was running from someone dangerous and I didn't want them to catch me. So I had to run faster."

"Five hundred and… twenty-eight years," he determined. "You've looked exactly the same."

"More or less."

"And me?" Elijah asked. "In five hundred years, have you ever seen me before?"

"No."

He sighed and finally rose to his feet. "How is any of this possible?"

"My guess is as good as mine," she told him, smiling widely.

#

A month passed and Katerina had become a fixture in his life. He spent half of his nights at her apartment, her refrigerator filled with donated bags of blood. She told him stories of the last five hundred years of her life and he listened, fascinated by the tale. Nadia, her roommate, didn't like him very much but she waited until he was gone to voice her concerns to Katerina.

She took him to the most exquisite sites and clubs in Paris, so when it was his turn to pick the venue, the suspense of the surprise was obviously unnerving her.

"It's a club on Avenue Marceau," he explained as she chose her outfit for the night: grey checked trousers with a high waist and folded up ankles, with a black bralette and stilettos. "A friend recommended it to me."

Katerina twists two curls back, united them at the base of her neck, creating a half-up, half-down look. "Well, I hope they have good wine," she mused, grabbing her purse and linked her arm through his as he led the way down to the taxi.

The club was warm, small and loud. It was only due to his vampire hearing that he heard what Katerina was saying at all. There was a thin carpet across the floor around the wooden dancefloor, and the booths and bar were only dimly lit by the neon decorations. Katerina looked exquisite in any light, but it was unfortunate that he couldn't see her features as clearly.

Nadia was invited to join them, of course, but separated to go to the bar, flirting with a small crowd of men that instantly surrounded her.

Elijah and Katerina sat in a booth, where everyone avoided joining them after meeting Elijah's eye. They shared a drink, and then another, and then six, before finally, she pulled him out onto the dancefloor. Elijah didn't completely understand how the bouncing around of drunks was considered dancing, but he soon realised that nobody cared, and nobody was looking at him, so he was free just to watch Katerina have fun, and kiss her when he pleased.

At around midnight, the music paused and half of the club looked around, confused. When it continued, the other half dropped their fangs and fed deeply from the humans.

That's when Katerina's face fell. "What is this?" She asked Elijah.

"I found more of us," he explained, grabbing a young woman who tried to escape by the throat, and bit into her.

He enjoyed himself, quenching his thirst and healing the woman before he finished. When he looked up, however, Katerina was gone. His eyebrows knitted together as he became quickly concerned. He tuned into his advanced hearing, trying to find her voice.

Instead, he found Nadia's, and followed it outside to an alley way where he found the pair. Katerina was injured, two noticeable bites in her neck and wrist. Nadia had her own wrist cut open and was pouring blood into Katerina's mouth.

"Are you just an idiot?" Nadia asked him when she saw him. "Or are you trying to get her killed? Please tell me the latter, at least then I could respect you."

"Nadia," Katerina scolded as she pulled away from Nadia's arm, healed but still distressed. "That's enough." She turned to Elijah and explained. "I'm human," she informed him. "I figured you knew, but since your mind has reset, maybe you've forgotten how to tell."

He felt himself pale when he realised his mistake. He's taken a lamb to the slaughter.

"You're five hundred years old," he stated, his voice lifting at the end as though it was a question. "How is it possible-"

"You asked me if there was a cure," Katerina reminded him. "There was. Just one. It was used on me as a weapon to weaken me. Then I died and fought my way back to life, paving the way for Nadia and I."

Elijah looked between them, a million questions forming in his mind. The first of which was so obvious that he wondered why he never asked it before. The resemblance between the women and the survivor streak that resonated in both of them. "You're more than just roommates," he concluded.

Katerina raised her chin and Nadia scowled. After a moment of pause, Katerina answered him, causing an uproar in Nadia.

"She's my daughter," Katerina claimed.

"Katherine!" Nadia exclaimed, furious.

"Katherine?" Elijah repeated, turning to Katerina for her to explain the name.

"Nadia!" Katerina, or Katherine, scolded once again.

"You've put a target on my back," Nadia said, fuming. "Now Rebekah will kill you for disobeying her and Klaus will kill me. And all for a man who _ruined_ both of our lives! I told you, you're too close to him. Now you've gotten us both killed."

She stormed off and hailed a taxi, leaving Elijah and Katerina alone in an alley way as a realisation of his own finally hit him. It was stupid really, that he didn't come to it earlier. It had been so obvious. She came to France looking for an ex, and yet she spent all her time with him. She knew what he was before she'd seen him feed. And now, Nadia had just brought it to light for him.

Katerina looked like she wanted to run away, her eyes wide like she was a deer caught in the headlights. Elijah felt like a predator who was preparing to stab her with his fangs.

"You know me," he stated.

* * *

 **AN: Please review! I'll see you soon. -Izzy**


	3. Katerina

**AN: I wasn't planning on posting two Kalijah chapters in a row but I got so motivated to write this one - I was like a tap that wouldn't turn off. It's un-beta'd. But enjoy some dark!Elijah.**

 **TW: Public sex. Smut.**

* * *

 **Katerina**

He was the smartest, most sophisticated man she'd ever met. When he spoke to her, it sounded like he was singing. When he danced with her, it felt like she was floating. When he took her hand, she felt like she might faint.

Lord Elijah Mikaelson had bought a banished Katerina Petrova into his home and made her feel welcome.

He took pity on her when she appeared lonely and would take her outside to play. Lord Klaus, the harsher of the two brothers and the one she was actually meant to be courting, would always come and snatch her away before their conversation became too deep. But in the evenings, Elijah would find her again and she'd tell him her truth. How intimidated she was by all the Lords and Ladies in the house, and how she couldn't fathom why they wanted her.

In fact, it was purely embarrassing when they'd discuss fine poetry and she had to hide the fact that she was illiterate in English.

One day he found her by the fire. They'd spent the afternoon running through the gardens and telling tales of love before Klaus had taken her away. In the evening he requested her hand, which she gave to him, and allowed him to lead her to the library.

"I remember your unease over our conversation of fine poetry," Elijah mused as they walked. "Literature should never bring such a negative feeling. Come, sit." He led her to an armchair, where he had a book waiting for them. "The Tale of Two Lovers," he introduced. "Written by Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini. Have you heard of it? I thought it was fitting considering your belief in and desire for love."

Katerina laughed and shook her head. "No I have not heard of it."

"It's written in Latin," he claimed, "but our good friend Trevor has translated it for us upon my request."

"Are you going to read it to me?" She asked.

"No, Katerina," Elijah said, shaking his head, slightly. "When I'm done with you, you're going to be able to read this to me."

And so he taught her. Klaus would find them sometimes in the evenings, and she'd be reading whole pages to the both of them. Klaus would say: "Why does she need to read when she's so pretty, I'll read everything for her?" Katerina tried to take it as a compliment and laugh it off. In truth, Klaus didn't care much about whether she read or not, and one night, he even asked her to recite poetry to him, so he obviously didn't mind. He was simply trying to drive a wedge between her and Elijah.

Slowly, her contributions to conversations around the household became more educated, but more importantly: more enthusiastic and happier. Elijah had given her the gift of reading and she couldn't have asked for anything more.

The Tale of Two Lovers was a story about a married woman and her love with a man waiting on the Duke of Austria. In Katerina's mind, she could pretend that she was the woman, Lucretia, and Elijah was the man, Euryalus. The obstacle of her husband, or courtship Klaus, forcing them to hide their feelings for each other. Even if Elijah didn't believe in love, Katerina did, and she knew he loved her. Even if he didn't know it himself yet.

They were halfway through the novel when she ran. She took the moonstone with her and left the book behind. If it was a token of her love for him, she didn't want it. If that was love, then wasn't that disappointing?

#

Katerina didn't see Elijah until 1538. She managed to hide herself well. See? She was a lot smarter than everyone thought she was, literate or not. But she got arrogant with it. She became so daring that she stayed in the same place for almost a whole year – Siena, Italy. The city was divided by political strife, but Katerina couldn't help but love it. She knew she'd have to leave eventually as it was easy prey and likely to be invaded over the next few decades by greater powers, but it didn't stop her from enjoying the dances while it was still alive.

It was the city where Lucretia and Euryalus fell in love.

She was enjoying an evening at the Opera del Duomo when Elijah appeared behind her, as if out of nowhere.

"You're a difficult woman to find, Katerina," he informed her, leaning close to her ear so nobody would hear them.

"The people here know me as Katherine," she claimed without a second of hesitation or doubt. If she yelled or ran, he'd just catch her and drag her back to Klaus. No, she was better off keeping calm and clever.

"Ah, so you're the illusive Katherine Pierce of Siena I've heard so much about?" Elijah mused, leaning on the back of her chair. "I should have known, really. But I've heard she was cruel and I thought more of you."

"I am more," she claimed, turning her neck to see him but refusing to stand up. "When we knew each other, you saw me as a sack of blood to be cut open and spilled over a rock. I was nothing. Now I have a home and a name that I made for myself. I have friends. And I have the power of a Duke or a Count. I'll be damned if that means I'm less than."

"Perhaps," he allowed. "You could have had all of that with us, had you of stayed."

"I don't need to be given things that I can simply take," she said, sighing with disappointment. "Is Klaus with you?"

"No."

"And you? Do I need to fear you?"

Elijah paused, considering this for a moment before sitting next to her. "Not tonight," he decided finally. "You see, when you ran, my dear brother assumed that it was my bidding, and that I had aided you. He temporarily killed me and hid me away in a coffin for decades, but I won't get into that right now. This is my third night awake, and as revenge, I stole his opera ticket. I would like to enjoy it."

"Klaus is in Siena," Katerina concluded.

"And the name Katherine Pierce has already been mentioned in our household a number of times, so I would suggest, after the opera, that you run again," Elijah said.

"But in the meantime, you'd have me sit and watch the opera with you?" She asked. "Tell me, in this coffin, did you feel the passing of time?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "No."

"I haven't seen you in forty-six summers, but to you it's felt like a number of days," she deduced with curiosity. "Tell me if you care about me?"

He didn't answer. The opera started and they watched in silence until they were about halfway through. Then, Katerina leaned over to his chair to whisper in his ear.

"What do I need to do?"

"Hm?" He turned to her, curiously.

"To earn your mercy," she prompted. "Women can't survive men, and men only want one thing. So just tell me when and where to meet you, and I'll do whatever it takes. To survive, I will."

Elijah's confused expression turned to bitterness and even anger. "You've had sex," he deduced.

"I had sex before we met," she revealed, bravely.

He scoffed and turned his nose up. "I wouldn't care for another man's leftovers."

Her face fell and she sunk back to her seat. She should have known better. Elijah was too smart to be manipulated or seduced. Perhaps she could have tried to play the innocent damsel, but either way, it was too late now.

More of the show went by before Elijah finally paid attention to her again.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why have you had sex?"

She was taken aback by the question but answered it honestly. "It's a world controlled by men and they expect gratitude for letting women live there. I need information and shelter to survive, and sometimes it's the only way I can get it."

"Do you enjoy it?" He asked.

"Sex isn't for me to enjoy," she claimed.

"I disagree," he said. "Meet me in the gardens in a few minutes."

Gardens were where he used to chase her around and play with her, where he used to entertain her all day before handing her back to Klaus. Its where they connected. Now, walking out to the floral fields behind the opera house, it felt as though she was on enemy territory. Elijah was waiting for her behind a bundle of trees, where they were just barely hidden from view.

"Do I have permission?" Elijah asked, nudging her against a trunk, so she was between it and him.

"To do what?" Katerina asked.

"You'll have to trust me," he prompted.

She paused, biting her lip before relenting. What was the worst that could happen? She'd had sex before, there was no reason she should be nervous now.

"You have my trust," she said. "And my permission."

Elijah lowered his head to kiss her lips – not their first kiss, but certainly their most exciting yet – before lowing his head to her neck, biting and sucking on little bits of flesh. His hands tangled in her skirts and started lifting them.

She looked around, concealing a yelp, for any observers, but nobody was around. One hand held her skirts up and the other ran itself up her thighs, making her shiver and jump under his touch. He remained eye contact, but Katerina couldn't bring herself to look at him, so she looked over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

He didn't answer and soon his fingers found her slick folds. His fingers ran between them, feeling them, before landing on that one little spot… She'd discovered it herself, back when she was a teenager, but she'd never had a man use it before. It served them no use, so they didn't seem to care about it. Maybe they didn't know about it. But Elijah did, and he knew exactly how to press it and rub it to make her squeal.

Her hands reached for the top of his breeches.

"Hands behind your back," he ordered. She hesitated. "Now," he insisted, and slowly, she did as she was told.

She broke this rule when he slipped a finger inside of her, making her jump with surprise. She reached out to hold his forearm as if to hold it in place, but after meeting his eye she put her hand back behind her back.

One finger turned to two, which turned to three, and quickly she was melting in his arms, moaning and panting. Just when she thought to compare this moment to paradise, Elijah started lowering to his knees. She opened her mouth to question him but was cut off by her own gasp when his tongue took over from his fingers.

She'd never had a man do this to her before. She'd never even heard of anything like this. But his tongue was infinitely better than his fingers. It flicked over that special sweet point and ran between her hot folds.

"Elijah," she moaned, reaching to hold up her own skirts, noticing how complicated it was becoming for him. She felt so filthy, standing there, displaying herself to the world and allowing Elijah to do whatever he wanted. This wasn't just sex, this was a game, and he was winning.

She started seeing double, just when she heard voices. Quickly, she dropped her skirts, concealing Elijah between her legs. Two gentlemen in ruffs came around and noticed her, greeting her politely.

Elijah pulled away so she could pull herself together and smile at them.

"You should return," one of them said. "No doubt your husband or father is worried about you. The night is no place for a woman on her own. You'll catch a chill."

"Of course," she replied, just as Elijah flicked his tongue over her now throbbing and sensitive spot. She swallowed to conceal the moan. "I was just… admiring the… view." Elijah seemed to have decided to entertain himself by licking her every time she tried to speak, intentionally trying to humiliate her no doubt.

"Well, go and find your escort," the second man ordered.

"Right away, sir," she agreed, as Elijah closed his mouth around her folds and sucked, licking hard and fast. The men stalked off and Katerina allowed herself a moan, covering her mouth and squealing behind it. Within a few minutes, it felt as though she was coming apart around him, and he kissed her thigh a few more times before returning to his feet.

"Elijah," she moaned, desperately trying to compose herself but swaying in his arms.

"I should return," he informed her.

"And me?" She asked.

He leaned in to kiss her cheek before whispering in her ear. "Run, Katerina."

#

They were never a couple, but their first break up broke Katerina's heart. They'd spent over a hundred and fifty years dancing around each other. She ran from him, he caught her, and she rewarded him with a night in her bed. He always had more to teach her, whether it be languages or sex or games. They never spent more than a week together and it would always end with her sneaking out of bed and leaving him to wake up alone.

However, in 1801 in Paris, she let her guard down and allowed for a little more time. She woke up one morning in Elijah's bed this time, and had one of the handmaidens dress her before going to meet him for breakfast. He seemed pale and unhappy, and even slouched in his chair.

"Good morning, my Lord," she greeted formally, to avoid suspicion from the staff. "I trust you slept well."

"I'm returning to New Orleans," he said, ignoring the pleasantries and jumping straight to the point. "Niklaus has grown paranoid and rightfully so. He sent me here to find you, and I've already lied to him once, claiming you escaped my reach and scarpered to Spain. Now he's grown angry and I need to make amends with him before he chases me down with a dagger."

There was a pause as Katerina took a seat and watched him. She'd left him a million times, breaking her own heart, but this was the first time he had chosen to leave her in return. But that wasn't what she cared about right then.

"You betrayed Klaus for me?" She gathered, emotion beginning to cloud her eyes.

"I did," he admitted. "Which is why we can't do this again. I refuse to keep betraying my family like this. We are so close to having everything we have ever wanted. I will not give that up for you."

"But-"

"You killed the men in that tavern," he realised, thinking back to the talk of the town before he arrived. "Had they been unkind to you or were you just hungry?" He stood up, finally, and faced her fully. "Every day you grow colder and more malicious, and every day my siblings become kinder and lighter. I must choose them."

He turned to walk away and the weight of what he was saying started pulling down her shoulders. He was choosing never to have this little rendezvous anymore, but he was also choosing to never see her again at all. And if he did, he'd been on his family's side of the fight. He'd help Klaus kill her.

"Elijah," she called as he neared the opposite side of the room. "I love you."

He turned back and nodded slowly. "I love you as well," said the man who claimed not to believe in love. "And I thank you for reopening that side of myself. That doesn't change my decision, however."

#

Katerina didn't see Elijah again until 1919.

She'd long since moved on and found love again. In 1864 she met the Salvatore brothers and they opened her heart to loving again. In 1910 she met an amazing man named George Williams, a vampire of three hundred years and he adored her. In turn, cared very much for him, and even told him she loved him.

One night in 1919, he even asked her to marry him. And she said she'd think about it.

It was on that night that she returned to her townhouse, giggling and smiling behind her hand. She turned on the lanterns and jumped out of her skin when she saw Elijah sitting on her armchair.

"Elijah," she greeted, breathless. "What are you doing here?"

He had a bottle of whiskey in one hand – half empty – and reeked of blood and alcohol.

"Mikael found us," he claimed, getting to his feet and swaying ever so slightly. He must have drank a lot to be swaying. "He killed Marcellus, an honorary member of our family. I loved him. And you love this… George." He picked up a photograph of the man before setting it back down, unimpressed. "It will never last."

"Excuse me?" She asked.

"I can't find my family," he revealed. "We were separated when Mikael came for us so I could fight and they could run but they hid very well. Better than you. I can always find you." He cupped her chin and made her look him in the eye. "Because you want me to, don't you?"

"I'm spoken for," she claimed, pushing his hand away.

"Yes, by dear George," he mused. "We both know he's simply a distraction from who you really want." He leaned down to kiss her cheek and she jumped back.

"Maybe so, but that isn't you anymore," Katherine said. "I moved on from you over a century ago. If anything, I'm biding my time until it's safe to be with Stefan. Not you. Never you. You left me, remember? I was the one who fought for us."

"Ah yes." Elijah nodded. "Stefan Salvatore. I remember seeing the two of you so happy together in Mystic Falls. But you're not his, nor George's. After four hundred years, Katerina, you can't deny it. You're mine."

"You can't just come and go whenever you please," she snapped, jumping away from his touch again and pointing to the door. "Now I demand you leave me in peace."

Elijah grew angry and set the bottle down, inching closer towards her and she realised the true danger she was in. "I will not," he claimed. "You're the only person I have left."

"No, I'm just the only person you can find," she corrected. "My heart belongs to Stefan now I _beg_ you to leave."

There was a pause as Elijah appeared to sober up. He looked away from her, considering something before leaning closer to her and saying: "If you ever see Mr Salvatore again, I'll kill him myself." And he left.

Finally.

#

In 1952, Klaus discovered that Katerina was alive, not burned in the fire of Mystic Falls, 1864. According to her sources, Elijah had discovered that Klaus had daggered all of his siblings and thrown them to the bottom of the ocean, finally done with them. He requested their coordinates and the brothers made a deal. Rebekah's coordinates for Katerina's.

It turned out that Klaus lied to Elijah, sending him off a wild goose chase so he could hunt down Katerina in peace. He came closer to finding her than he ever had before and she barely managed to escape him. But she didn't mind the chase so much. At least it was something to do.

What hurt was that Elijah betrayed her, yet again.

#

In 1992, Katherine was in Paris again. She had been dating George for a few decades now, mainly because he had incredible contacts in the vampire community, but she was finally starting to love him. He was very good at keeping tabs on where Klaus was.

One day, he lost his connection. Klaus had killed the spy and George was set back to square one. With no idea how far behind them Klaus was, they needed to establish a new connection.

George, stupidly, said the last thing Katherine wanted to hear.

"My friend Margot's dating some guy who apparently used to be in Klaus's inner circle. Elijah Mikaelson. Ever heard of him? He said he'll find Klaus for us. For a price. He wants to meet on Tuesday."

George was really a stupid idiotic man. Katherine would have to let him go.

Elijah reached out to her, personally and requested to meet. She bought George of course, and he bought his latest girlfriend, Margot. She was skinny and blonde but not nearly as pretty as Katherine was.

It was seeing Elijah again that was a shock to her stomach. He was an Original and she hated him. But he was also Elijah Mikaelson. And she loved him. Seeing him again reminded her of how little she really cared for George and even Stefan. She hadn't seen Elijah sober and calm since 1801 and… she missed him. Despite all of his betrayals.

Elijah had a good plan. Apparently, according to a witch he'd consulted, a doppelganger had been born to the family Gilbert. Elijah wanted to allow her her childhood and wait until she actually started to _look_ like a doppelganger before finding her and offering her to Klaus. They'd pretend he was doing it for Katherine's freedom to lure him to town, before killing him and rescuing his siblings.

After some debate and collaboration, Katherine agreed, promising to find the moonstone where she'd left it in Mystic Falls and give it to Elijah so he could get her freedom and his siblings back.

That night she broke up with George. She admitted to him that she'd never love him like she knew she could. He was upset, obviously, and left with a broken heart. Katherine returned to the restaurant where they'd met Elijah and found him at the bar.

"You look lovely," he offered as a way of greeting. "You're… so much smarter and stronger than I thought you'd become. I'm sorry I didn't see it before."

"Don't try and compliment me," she requested. There was a pause as she ordered a drink. "I broke up with George," she told him before silently cursing herself. Why did she say that? How subtle was that?

"I parted from Margot," he mused. "She was lovely. But if she hadn't been a means of contacting you perhaps I never would have been seeing her in the first place."

"I'm not going to say I'm sorry," she claimed.

"Neither am I," he returned. "However… I would like to apologise for everything else." There was a moment when she turned to him, meeting his eye, and seeing for the first time in a long time, the man she'd originally fallen in love with. Five hundred years to the month. They could have been celebrating a very impressive anniversary had they not shared so much turmoil.

"I'm sorry for telling Niklaus where you were," he started. "For taking my anger out on you on my darkest night. For leaving you for a man who could never be redeemed. For never fighting for your freedom. I'm sorry for being jealous and possessive."

Katherine scoffed and shook her head. "Maybe I shouldn't have left every morning with no explanation," she admitted. "It's been a long five hundred years. But thank you."

"Five hundred years?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and thinking this over. "You're all grown up."

She picked the olive off his cocktail stick and threw it at him.

They had sex that night. George had barely left before Elijah was taking her in their bed. It had ben about two centuries but they still remembered the way each other's bodies moved and danced with each other's.

When he fell asleep after found five, she got to her feet, going to his files and getting the name of the doppelganger's family before taking all the information he'd gathered on them. He wanted to snatch her when she was eighteen. She'd get her when she was seventeen.

There was no guarantee Elijah would protect her. He only wanted his siblings. He'd chosen them before, he'd do it again. Katherine was on her own. And for the millionth time, she escaped before Elijah woke up to notice her leave.

#

In 2009, Elijah caught her in the act of betraying him, taking their plan into her own hands and completing it herself. As a punishment, he compelled her to stay in a tomb for Klaus to find.

In 2011, they put their differences aside to find the cure, arguing out all of their issues and working together for her freedom. It was what he swore to her after all.

So, was she using him? The million-dollar question. Yes, and no. She always loved him. She never lied to him about that. But if she hadn't needed him for her freedom, she wouldn't have tracked him down and asked for his help.

But she did love him. And when she asked him to leave with her, she'd already prepared a home for them in Paris, a beautiful getaway. It was the first place they ever said 'I love you'. But he never went there with her.

When he left her for his brother again, she swore it would be the last time. She'd never go back to him. He'd never put her first. She didn't understand it until she met Nadia. She'd never put Elijah above her daughter. She forgave him. It wasn't like he was around to hear it, but she forgave him and let it go. Focused on Stefan. Even when Damon made her see Elijah on her death bed, she wasn't angry or heartbroken at all. It was just… over.

Until 2019.

#

Katherine and Nadia had stayed in a hostel in Richmond for a night after they were resurrected. Katherine had taken the role of the devil and paved the way for her and her daughter, of course. They'd ran into the Mystic Falls gang the day before, who'd been preparing for a fight. But Katherine was old and tired and wanted time to spend with her daughter.

"So, I called in a favour with a friend, and we've got a private jet secured in a few hours," Katherine said, coming back into their room at six in the morning with cups of coffee. "How do you feel about that tour of Bulgaria? Retracing our family's roots?"

"What time is it?" Nadia grumbled, rolling over in her bed with a groan.

"Six."

There was a scoff and some Bulgarian cursing before Nadia fell back to sleep. Katherine slapped her on the arm, getting a sharp 'OW' in return. "I didn't raise you to be lazy," she snapped. "You've been dead for seven years how much more sleep do you need?"

Nadia didn't reply before going back to sleep and Katherine rolled her eyes. She would slap her again and argue but her phone started ringing and she figured it was news of their private jet.

"I'm gonna need a couple hours," she said as she answered the phone. "My passenger is being an insubordinate bitch."

"I know you're alive."

The voice on the other line was recognisable but not one that Katherine expected. She paled when she heard it. British, snarky, old and dangerous. Rebekah Mikaelson had called her.

"How did you get this number?" Katherine asked. She'd bought that phone that very morning with money she'd stolen from Damon Salvatore. She hadn't given anybody her number yet.

"I've had someone watching you ever since Matt Donovan told me you were alive," Rebekah answered. "And my little minion compelled the guy at the Apple Store. But that's all besides the point. I know you're alive and soon Klaus will too."

There was a pause as Katherine determined why this bitch was warning her. "What do you want?"

"Elijah's not answering his phone, I need you to go and check on him," Rebekah explained. "We've all be cursed so we can't be within proximity to each other but Elijah isn't contactable either. My sources say he's in Paris. Go and check on him and tell me why he isn't replying to me."

"Maybe it's because you're a whiny spoilt brat," Katherine answered before she could stop herself. "I'm just out here trying to live a peaceful life, why can't you leave me alone? I don't care what Elijah's up to, that's between the two of you. Why don't you ask that werewolf he's been sleeping with."

"Hayley's with her daughter, obviously," Rebekah stated, clearly oblivious to the fact that Katherine's with hers. "I just need you to do my bidding for a few days and then I promise that Klaus won't bother you again. It's a pretty good deal if you ask me."

Katherine sucked her teeth before relenting. "Fine. A few days."

"Thank you," Rebekah said although it didn't sound genuine. "And one more thing: if you try and seduce him or anything ugly like that, it's not Klaus you'll have to worry about. I'll tear you apart myself. Bye bye, Katerina."

Katherine cursed when Rebekah hung up, kicking a chair before calling her guy. "I need to reroute that flight to Paris. I'll be at the airport in an hour."

It hadn't taken her long to find Elijah. Just find any vampire in Paris and find out what their biggest priority was at that moment. She tracked him down to a bar where he played the piano for tips. He had always been a skilled pianist and she knew more than anyone the miracles his fingers could do.

"I liked that last song," she complimented when he joined her at the bar. "Mendelssohn. You played it very well, but I believe it may have been a little too upbeat for this crowd."

Elijah looked around at the tables at his disappointing audience before turning back to her. "You're a musician?" He asked.

Katherine narrowed her eyes, wondering why he was asking her that. He knew she didn't play. "I can appreciate the arts."

"But you don't play?"

"I really wouldn't dare." She finished her wine and ordered another. What game was Elijah playing? She always wanted to play with him, but it was just damn right confusing. It arrived at the same time as his whiskey and he paid for both before she could even attempt to purchase her own.

"If it's skill that's stopping you then I'm afraid I'm disappointed," Elijah said. "I don't play accurately – anyone can play accurately, but I play with wonderful expression."

"Oscar Wilde," Katherine credited. "Yes, let's all be sure to keep our science for life. But it's not skill. I can play fine. It's the sentiment behind the pieces. I don't mean it. And so I won't be able to do it any justice."

He smirked and nodded slightly. "I'm Elijah," he introduced, holding his hand out.

"Katerina," she returned with a smile, taking his hand.

The next morning, Katherine called Rebekah to fill her in on the news.

"Elijah's got amnesia," she claimed. "I don't know how or why, but he has no idea who he is or who I am. So, does that answer your question?"

"No, not really," Rebekah snapped. "But I suppose that's all you can do for me. If you attempt to speak with Elijah again, I'll kill you."

Before Katherine could reply, her phone pinged to indicate another call and she checked the ID. Elijah. She'd added him to her contacts the night before.

"Hold on," she said to Rebekah before answering the other call. "Most men wait about three days before calling."

"I'm not most men," Elijah explained. "I enjoyed meeting you last night and wanted to invite you out… for dinner."

"Dinner?" Katherine repeated. She paused, looking around the living and trying to figure out what the hell to say. It was the apartment she'd designed for the two of them eight years before, which wasn't helping her decision. No, she'd have to say no. Rebekah would kill her if she found out. But then something caught her eye. The Tale of Two Lovers, by Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini. It was the book Elijah taught her to read with. "Okay, dinner's fine. When?"

"Eight?" He asked. "I can pick you up."

"I could cook," she suggested, against all her better judgement. Part of her was being greedy and just wanted him to see this place, memories or not.

"That sounds excellent," he agreed.

"Good," she said. "I'll see you at eight."

She hung up and returned to her call with Rebekah, smirking to herself as she said: "Deal, I'll just make sure he doesn't get into any trouble, but I'll never see him again. Done and done."

#

Two months later, they were standing in the ally way of a nightclub. She'd explained vampirism to him and he'd taken her to a vampire club, ignoring the fact that even as the devil, she was basically useless in this realm and was for all intents and purposes, human. Immortal, unkillable, but human. Nadia was healing her wounds with her blood when Elijah joined them.

"Are you just an idiot?" Nadia asked him when she saw him. "Or are you trying to get her killed? Please tell me the latter, at least then I could respect you."

"Nadia," Katherine scolded as she pulled away from Nadia's arm, healed but still distressed. "That's enough." She turned to Elijah and explained. "I'm human," she informed him. "I figured you knew, but since your mind has reset, maybe you've forgotten how to tell."

"You're five hundred years old," he stated, his voice lifting at the end as though it was a question. "How is it possible-"

"You asked me if there was a cure," Katherine reminded him. "There was. Just one. It was used on me as a weapon to weaken me. Then I died and fought my way back to life, paving the way for Nadia and I."

Elijah looked between them, confused. "You're more than just roommates," he concluded.

Katherine raised her chin and Nadia scowled. After a moment of pause, Katherine answered him, causing an uproar in Nadia. It wasn't safe, sure, but… she couldn't lie to Elijah.

"She's my daughter," Katherine claimed.

"Katherine!" Nadia exclaimed, furious.

"Katherine?" Elijah repeated, turning to Katerina for her to explain the name.

"Nadia!" Katherine scolded once again.

"You've put a target on my back," Nadia said, fuming. "Now Rebekah will kill you for disobeying her and Klaus will kill me. And all for a man who _ruined_ both of our lives! I told you, you're too close to him. Now you've gotten us both killed."

She stormed off and hailed a taxi, leaving Elijah and Katherine alone in an ally. She fiddled nervously. He was an Original, and all of them were quick to temper. He was starting to figure out her less than innocent intentions and he turned to her, his face difficult to read.

"You know me," he stated.

Oh, Elijah. Her Elijah. Her love of five hundred years. The man who not Stefan, nor Damon, nor George, or any other man could ever compare to. Her dearest Elijah.

"Yes," she answered. "You know me."

#

"And that brings us to now," Katherine finished explaining, pacing the length of her bedroom and refusing to meet Elijah's eye. "Of course, that's not all of it. We've had five hundred years together. That's just a basic summary. Mostly the bad stuff. But we had some good times. Elijah? Please say something."

He was sat at the edge of her bed, looking down instead of at her.

"You lied to me," he observed after a minute.

"I know," she said. "I'm sorry. I didn't even… I'm not supposed to be here, okay? Rebekah's threatened my life for staying. Every time I wanted to tell you I knew you… It just felt like a declaration that I was staying. I really need to go."

Elijah hesitated again before asking: "If all of this is temporary and only for your freedom, then why did you have sex with me? Why did you let me basically move in?"

Now Katherine paused, kneeling by him so they were on eye level. "Because no matter how hard I try to avoid it or how much I don't want it, I always find my way back to you. And we have an incredible time together where I always think that maybe, this time, you'll stay. But you never do. And I'm left heart broken. And it's happening again. I'm watching it happen and I can't stop myself. And you're going to leave me. And I promise myself never again, but I'll see you in another fifty years or so for the same drama."

"I'm not leaving you this time," Elijah declared.

"Don't say that," she requested. "This isn't you talking. When you remember who I am, and your family, you'll regret saying all of this to me."

"I can't imagine ever regretting telling you I love you," he said. "I'm staying this time."

* * *

 **AN: I know it's a lot of flashbacks with barely any development to modern stories... Ah I get so anxious when doing flashbacks. I feel like they're ten times harder. Let me know what you think of a bit of dark!Elijah.**

 **Who's POV do you want next? Klaus or Bonnie?**

 **Don't forget to review - Izzy xx**


	4. Bonnie

**AN:**

 **Me: Do you guys want Klaus or Bonnie?**

 **Majority: KLAUS!**

 **Me: *waits months* Bonnie? Cool.**

 **This chapter was a lot shorter and included a lot less than I had planned, but if I didn't update soon I would have forgotten this plan all together. I'll go write Klaus's chapter now, he's coming next. Hope you enjoy a bit of Bonnie. - Izzy**

* * *

 **Bonnie**

Ever since Bonnie Bennett was a little girl, she'd dreamed of going to New Orleans. Mainly it was due to her desire to escape Mystic Falls, her longing for a city where more people shared her complexion and celebrated her history, and because the culture of the city was beautiful. More so than anything she'd seen before. When she was eighteen, she found out about the thriving witch community of the city and her desire to go increased. It could be a place where she wasn't used to do a spell but practised her magic of her own accord and control.

But then the Mikaelson's moved in and Bonnie's plans changed. It was their city and while that was devastating, it was out of her control. So when Mystic Falls didn't need her anymore she travelled the world, looking for another city that enchanted her as much. And when she returned to the United States she discovered that the Mikaelsons had all left. Dispersed across the world, plagued with dark magic that they had to separate to protect their youngest. Klaus, the exception, was in Mystic Falls with Hayley and their daughter Hope, to attend Caroline's school for the young and the gifted. Rebekah had moved to New York with her boyfriend and the king of the vampires that had restrained witches for years. And Elijah had disappeared to France without so much as a phone call.

So Bonnie had booked the best hotel she could with the money Caroline was streaming into her bank account every month and explored New Orleans.

The witches loved her the minute she told them she was a Bennett and the Regent of the covens, Vincent Griffith, became her own mentor. He let her into the inner circle of the faction's leaders and spent time telling her all he could about the magic she had yet to discover.

The vampires and werewolves were even living in harmony with them and never used them for a spell. Hayley, who still lead the wolves and stayed in the city during the week, made quick friends with Bonnie. As did Josh, the leader of the vampires.

Of course, there was still a Mikaelson Representative in the city, an advocate who reminded the city that the Mikaelson's will return eventually. But surprisingly, Bonnie liked this one.

Freya Mikaelson, the oldest and lost siblings. Former witch, newly-turned vampire. She turned in order to free Klaus from having to carry the burden of the dark magic, allowing him to live with his daughter in Mystic Falls.

Freya also had a lot to show Bonnie about magic and the city and they became quite close as well. They met for breakfast every morning and talked about the latest city gossip. With Bonnie and Vincent's approval combined Freya was excepted back into the witch community, even as a vampire.

Five months of smooth living passed until March came around, and with it, Mardi Gras. She'd never been so excited for an event before and was invited out with the faction leaders to discuss where the supernatural world will be during the parade.

"Hey guys," the waitress of Rousseau's said as she set all their drinks down on the table. "If these don't prep your liver for Mardi Gras, nothing will."

Vincent was looking very grim, sipping his drink and grimacing at some idea. "The city is at peace now, but we can't take that for granted. It feels very much like the calm before the storm and we're all still figuring out how this alliance is gonna' work. The parade always throws everything up in the air and I want it to land smoothly."

Hayley nodded, pointing to him in agreement. "That's true. If something's going to go wrong it's probably going to be at Mardi Gras."

"Buzz kills," Freya said with a roll of her eyes.

"True," Bonnie agreed, smirking. "But this is my first Mardi Gras and I'd like to enjoy it without tragedy."

Vincent winked at her and turned back to the group. "So, Hayley. Where are the wolves going to be?"

"In the Bayou, minding their own business," Hayley said. "I'll be at the parade, to Keelin, I'm counting on you to text me the minute anything happens."

"The witches will be in the city of the dead," Bonnie added.

They waited patiently for Josh, who was looking at his phone to speak.

"Josh?" Vincent prompted. "The vampires?"

"Er, yeah," he said, awkwardly looking up from his phone. "I mean, yeah, quite a few of them want to take part in the parade though, so we might need a bit of incentive. Like, the peace is great and all, but we could use some more daylight rings. The wolves don't turn on the full moon, the witches aren't restrained at all. It's not fair that we're the only ones with limitations."

"Because you're the most dangerous and unpredictable," Vincent claimed.

"And how are we supposed to prove we're not when you won't give us a chance?" Josh asked.

There was a pause before Bonnie nodded at Vincent. "I'll meet with some of the vampires, learn their story individually and decide if they can handle it," she suggested. "It will be on my head. Not yours."

"Who do you keep texting?" Keelin asked, curiously.

Everyone turned to Joshua's phone, which lit up again with _Marcel G_ written across the screen.

"Seriously, Josh?" Keelin scoffed. "He left this city; let him go. You're the boss now, think for yourself."

"I am," Josh insisted. "If I can do this for the vampires, they'll look at me like a leader and not Marcel's lacky."

"Delete his number!" Hayley ordered, laughing.

"There is one more thing we need to talk about," Freya discussed. "I know this is a bit last minute, but we only really decided for sure last night on a plan. And I'm sorry, but we're not going to be at Mardi Gras. We'll be in Lebanon."

Keelin squealed excitedly, but the rest of the table was silent for a minute as this sunk in.

"Lebanon?" Hayley repeated. "Why Lebanon?"

"I have an opportunity to travel and work," Keelin explained. "I could really be making a difference where I'm needed the most. I can't turn this chance down."

"And I don't want to live without Keelin in my life," Freya added, taking Keelin's hand.

"So who's going to the Mikaelson in the city?" Hayley asked. "We need one to keep our home, Hope's home, and I have to choose the pack right now. I know Klaus is only coming in for Mardi Gras with Hope, but he would have told me if he's planning on staying long-term. We need someone in Mystic Falls with Hope."

"I think we're going to alternate, I'm not sure," Freya mused. "They're discussing it right now and one of us will fly in for the parade."

After the meeting of the council, Bonnie stayed behind with Freya to grab a cup of coffee to go. They walked through the streets of New Orleans while the parade was being arranged, people making floats and all that.

"I never thought I would meet a Mikaelson I liked," Bonnie mused as they walked, thinking about all of Klaus's games, Elijah's stern plotting, Rebekah's bitchiness. "You surprised me, Freya. I'm going to miss you when you're gone."

"I never thought I would meet an enemy of my family's who I would come to love as a friend," Freya added. "It's been a good few months with you in town. I'll miss you too. And we'll keep in touch."

Bonnie nodded, solemnly. She had so many friends that agreed to 'keep in touch' and she hadn't spoken to some of them in months. They had been much closer than Bonnie and Freya were now. She wasn't entirely hopeful.

"Of course," she agreed, monotone. "I'm not looking forward to another Mikaelson in town."

"Do try and get along with them," Freya pleaded. "For my sake."

Bonnie scoffed and shook her head. "No promises."

#

Mardi Gras finally came around, and did not disappoint. The day had barely started before the streets were soaked in spilt drinks. Josh was accompanying her for the day with his new boyfriend. They started the day watching the parade float by, catching the chains that were flung at them. Bonnie danced with a few celebrators and by lunch time she was full of beignets and beer.

They tried to take a picture together but when a group of four white girls beside them did the same thing, yelling "MARDI GRAS!" they shamefully lowered their phones.

But before she did, Bonnie started to notice the texts popping up from Caroline.

"Hey, my friend's in Rosseau's," Bonnie explained to Josh. "I'm going to go and find her. Are you guys okay here?"

"Yes! Stop third-wheeling!" Yelled Josh's boyfriend, winking at her and linking his arms around Josh's torso.

Bonnie laughed to herself as she walked the few feet to the café bar and looked around the packed room to find her friend. Instead, she found two little monsters running towards her and almost knocking her down by jumping on her.

"Hey babies!" Bonnie squealed, excitedly. She kneeled down to Lizzie and Josie's level and gave them a big hug and a kiss each. She did miss her nieces.

Next to embrace her was, finally, Caroline. The stressed out mom practically fell into Bonnie's arms.

"I've already ordered you a drink," Caroline said, leading her and the twins back to the booth. Klaus and Hayley were already sat there with a third little girl who Bonnie offered her hand to.

"You must be Hope Mikaelson," she guessed. "I've heard a lot about you."

Hope smiled proudly and took Bonnie's hand.

"How are you enjoying your first Mardi Gras?" Hayley asked, sliding the Malibu across the table for Bonnie. "I remember finding mine... overwhelming."

"I'm surprised you remember it," Klaus said, finding more interest in his drink than greeting Bonnie. "We had a lot going on back then," Klaus reminded her, moving Hope onto his lap so Bonnie would have enough room to sit down.

The adults at the table caught his drift, laughing at the idea of how drunk Hayley must have been, but the kids didn't understand what he meant.

"I'm having fun," Bonnie claimed. "Although I feel like such a tourist."

"How long are you planning on staying?" Caroline asked.

Bonnie shrugged. "I'm not sure. While I love you and everyone in Mystic Falls, I've been here for a few months and it already feels much more like home. I think I'm going to stay for a while."

"Another wonderful thing about New Orleans!" Hayley exclaimed. "There's room for everyone."

"Are you guys excited to be back?" Bonnie asked Klaus and Hope. The little girl nodded enthusiastically. "Care, what about you? This is your first Mardi Gras as well. I forgot you've never actually been a local."

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked.

"Well, the six of you look like such a family," Bonnie mused, looking around the table. "I forgot that it's less than a year in the making."

There were smiles exchanged between them and a few under-the-table kicks between Hayley and Caroline before Klaus said:

"How about the two of you go and explore Mardi Gras? Hayley and I can take the kids somewhere a bit more quiet before the real chaos breaks out?"

"I have a better idea," Bonnie said, a little less subtly. "I'll look after Lizzie and Josie, catch up with my nieces a bit. Caroline, do you mind Klaus's company over mine?"

Before they left, Caroline grabbed Bonnie at the bar, away from the others. "What the hell was that?" She demanded, scowling.

"What?" Bonnie asked. "Klaus has been waiting over nine years to show you around New Orleans. Let him. I think I've had enough for a few hours anyway and could use some quiet. You know I'm not much of an extrovert."

Caroline looked outraged but was obviously hiding a smile. "Bonnie Bennett, you're a devious little-"

"Friend?" Bonnie suggested. "Best friend who knows that you have a connection with someone and it trying to encourage you to act on it? Go, Care. Have a good Mardi Gras. I'll see you before you leave."

#

Bonnie took Lizzie and Josie by the hand and took them to see some of the more child-centred parts of the festival. They found a few stands where they could play games and watched as they enjoyed themselves. Bonnie, nearing twenty-five herself, had considered in depth whether or not she was looking for kids in her future, but all she saw was Lizzie and Josie. She never really had a good parental role model, her mother having abandoned her, her father constantly leaving and Grams being an alcoholic. But she liked this. Having two little girls who adored her, who she could give back whenever she wanted.

"Caroline's, I assume?" A vaguely familiar voice said, and it took Bonnie a minute to realise it was directed at her. She hadn't heard it in so long, after all. But it had an old-timey British accent hanging off of it, so she identified who it belonged to before she saw him.

"Please tell me you're only here for Mardi Gras!" Bonnie said with a scowl as she turned to face Kol Mikaelson. He strode towards her, and she remembered the last time he moved closer to her. He took her neck and strangled her, threatening her…

She swallowed, reminding herself that the past was the past. Enzo had done the same thing, so had Damon.

"I never really cared for this little parade," he mused with a nonchalant shrug. "Nor the city. It was more my siblings' than it was mine. However, it is the closest thing I have to a home and someone needs to hold down the Abattoir."

"Of course, there must be a Mikaelson in New Orleans or the world will burn," Bonnie said, sarcastically. "On that note, you know Hope's here, right? Aren't you supposed to be staying away?"

"Hope's already on the plane with Hayley," Kol explained. "Klaus, Caroline and those two… things, will follow soon."

"Their kids," she said, helpfully, checking over her shoulder to see Lizzie and Josie still playing. "Not things."

"There's only one child I can stand, and I only do it because I have to," Kol mused with a sigh. "Well actually, I have to stay away now, so I guess everything works out in the end."

Bonnie shook her head, sighing. "You're… broken," she decided. "Look, before you say anything else, I'm in this city because I like it here. I work with the witches, I'm friends with the werewolves, I'm even friends with the vampires, okay? Don't come here and cause trouble for me. We're strangers, we can live in harmony."

"Harmony?" Kol scoffed. "Is that a threat?"

Bonnie almost laughed. "It's an offering, take it or leave it. Come on girls, let's go find Mom!"

#

Freya had used some of the family fortune to put down the deposit to an apartment in the heart of the French Quarter, Bonnie just had to pay the rent. Bonnie told her it was too much, but then she actually saw the figure in Freya's bank account and realised it wouldn't hurt.

It was a gorgeous apartment, small but with lots of space. Her new years resolution was to be as minimalist as she could be, so it didn't have a lot of clutter. It had white walls and white hard-wood floors, it got lots of natural light so she had plants on every surface and even hanging from the ceiling. They helped her with spells, allowing her to draw power from nature right from her own home. She also had a bookshelf full of old grimoires and a little alter set up in the living room.

Her bedroom, where she was currently pacing, was a little warmer than the rest of the apartment, lit usually by lamps of even just candles, with orange bedsheets and curtains and a fluffy cream rug so her bare feet didn't have to touch the cold wood in the morning.

"I just wish I knew it was going to be Kol," Bonnie mused, trying to declutter as she talked into the phone. "I would have… moved. I don't know. We sort of have a violent history."

"Yeah, I've heard of some of his transgressions," Freya replied, obviously stifling a yawn by the sound of her voice. "But the whole time I've known him, he hasn't really been like that. He's gone through a lot since you last saw him."

"Like what?" Bonnie asked. "Almost dying? That only made him worse when I knew him."

"He met a girl," Freya replied. "He fell in love. Rebekah told me he'd never been that way with anyone before. She was a witch actually, a bit younger than you. It's my fault… She died, and Kol was destroyed over it. But after, he came out… kinder."

Bonnie hesitated, losing her train of thought. She couldn't say anything bad about Kol now. She understood exactly what he was going through. She'd loved Enzo more than anything. She had watched Elena and Caroline have these epic love stories and all she had had was Jeremy, who, let's face it, was just out of sex ed. Enzo was her big thing and just when he was about to turn human, live happily ever after with her… Stefan Salvatore happened. And he killed him. And it had taught her to live her life to the fullest, impact people positively, love hopelessly. If Kol was learning the same lesson, how could she judge him?

"I get that," Bonnie relented. "I'll be nice if he does. How's Lebanon?"

"I don't know, I've been sleeping since we landed," Freya explained. "I'm exhausted. Jet lag. How's New Orleans?"

"Hungover," Bonnie admitted. "I got to go, I'm meeting Vincent for coffee and then going to see Josh to meet some vampires. I did promise some daylight rings, I'm going to be selective."

"Good, rule that city with an iron fist," Freya said. "I'll talk to you soon."

* * *

 **AN: Less Kennett than I wanted, more Bonnie just being friends with good people for a change, you know? I like the idea of everyone liking our girl. Sorry for the lack of update lately, my next one will be much quicker and it'll be our boy Klaus.**

 **Don't forget to review - Izzy xx**


	5. Klaus

**AN: Finally, Klaus's chapter. Welcome to the story, Nik.**

* * *

 **Klaus**

Six long months passed in Mystic Falls. Klaus, Hayley and Hope had Caroline, Alaric and the twins over for Christmas. The new year came, January passed, and finally it was February. Along with it, Mardi Gras. The family of three were excited to return to New Orleans for the occasion. Freya would be in Lebanon with Keelin, Kol was flying in when Hope was going back to Mystic Falls, so they could celebrate in their city.

Hayley had been in New Orleans all of January making these arrangements with the faction council, and had just come back to help Klaus and Hope pack.

Hope would be out of school for her half-term so they didn't need to request any time off – not that it would actually be a request as much as it would be a notice. He respected Caroline and her line of work and all, but there was no way Hope was missing her first Mardi Gras.

He drove to the school at noon to pick Hope up and looked around for his favourite head teacher. Instead, he found Alaric Saltzman.

"Hope's report," he narrated as he handed Klaus a bit of paper that meant almost nothing to him. Why on Earth did seven-year-olds have reports? "We look forward to welcoming her back next week."

"Fantastic," Klaus said, tucking it under his arm so he could hold Hope's bag. "How are the twins?"

"Good," Alaric stated. "I hope they stay that way over the break."

Klaus smiled, overly-politely. They were taking Caroline and the girls with them to New Orleans for the weekend, much to Alaric's dismay.

"Nothing will happen to your girls while I'm near," Klaus assured him, adding: " _Ric_ ," overly-sarcastic as though it was an insult.

"Yeah, you and your family are never threatened," Alaric remembered with his own brand of sarcasm. "That's why it's in the state it is. Just… protect my family better than you protected yours."

Klaus wanted to rip his head of and shove it up his arse, but there were children about. Instead, Klaus nodded politely and turned to leave, Hope reaching up to hold his hand on the way out. She talked about her favourite teachers and what she'd learned that semester on the way to the door. Only about half of what she said really made sense to him. She moved on to magic spells and games she'd made up with her friends and Klaus just listened to her talk. Her happiness at this school meant everything to him, after everything she'd been through.

For the first time since she was born, Hope was completely safe. Guarded by her adoring parents, in a school full of people like her, in a world where no one wanted to hurt her. And so, even though his siblings were scattered across the world and unable to visit him due to fear of harming his daughter, Klaus had never been happier. In one thousand years his heart had not been capable of holding this much love and his mind was not strong enough to bear it.

But what Alaric said did make sense. His family had been defeated. Was he really capable of protecting his own daughter, let alone Caroline's two?

He strapped her safely into the car and sent a quick text to Caroline before climbing into the drivers seat: _Still coming?_

He drove Hope home to where Hayley, who had just flown in from New Orleans herself, was preparing for the flight out again.

"Hi, sweetie!" Hayley greeted, dropping what she was doing and opening her arms for Hope to run into. The mother and daughter had been separated for about a month at this point while Hayley was in New Orleans and the reunion made Klaus smile.

"How was school?" Hayley asked.

"Awesome!" Hope said, enthusiastically. "We're leaning how to use plants in magic!"

"That sounds great," Hayley said, her oblivion of everything to do with magic and witches only clear to Klaus. "What spell are you going to do next?"

"I want to help flowers grow," Hope said, after a second of thought.

A smile spread over Hayley's face at the innocence in her daughter. "We just planted some lilies in the garden, why don't you go and practise on them?" She held her hands out for Hope's bracelet and exchanged a look with Klaus. Both parents knew now that when Hope took her bracelet off they had to keep their ears and eyes open for trouble. Hope ran outside, leaving her backpack with Klaus.

"Okay, arrangements?" Hayley started clapping her hands together.

Klaus checked his phone to see Caroline's reply: _Yeah, of course! The girls are excited._

"We'll be there for the weekend, Kol will fly in on Sunday evening when the party's over, Freya and Keelin are already in Lebanon, etc," he mused, tucking his phone away. "We're meeting Caroline and the twins at the airport tomorrow morning."

"And you're all packed?" Hayley asked, raising her eyebrows.

Klaus rolled his eyes at the nagging wife he never wanted. "Yes!"

Hayley smirked and walked into the garden to check on Hope, giving Klaus the space to text Caroline back.

Klaus: _And you?_

Caroline: _I'm excited too._

Caroline: _You do owe me a tour, after all._

Klaus: _I remember leaving you that voicemail._

Caroline: _I remember hearing it. Don't tell anyone, but I kept it._

Klaus smiled at that, a big smile that he only reserved for her and his daughter. He had noticed, over the past few months of being in New Orleans, that the dynamic of his relationship with Caroline was changing every day. She was older than she was when he knew her, she was a mother, divorced. She no longer relied on her friend's approval. She was starting to be honest with herself.

They weren't just friends. They were never going to be just friends.

But maybe… they had to be.

Klaus: _Really?_

Caroline: _I figured I might need to cash in on that tour._

Klaus: _Clever. Are the girls ready?_

Caroline: _Please. This is me you're talking to. They were ready last week. They're my girls, they colour-coordinated their suitcase._

Klaus: _Like mother like daughters._

Caroline: _Is Hope ready?_

Klaus: _Yes._

Caroline: _And you?_

Klaus: _Why does everyone seem to think I need to be supervised while packing? Yes, I'm bloody ready._

Caroline: _Hayley nag you too, then?_

Klaus: _I'm 30x older than both of you combined._

Caroline: _But you're a_ man _._

Klaus: _Sexist._

Caroline: _Don't start._

There was a short pause as Klaus looked out the window to see Hayley and Hope sat in the flowers. As much as he loved and missed his siblings, his heart was warmed by the family he had now. Hayley, his friend and one of the most important people he knew. His lovely daughter, who saw him as a king, and that was better than any empire. And Caroline.

 _See you tomorrow, sweetheart,_ Klaus texted back.

 _See you tomorrow, Klaus._

#

Three excited children in an airport was not ideal, even for the best parenting trio. They divided the kids to try and make tasks a bit easier. Hayley occupied Hope, encouraging her to help carry the bags and give their boarding passes to the lady. Hope was now at the age where she wanted to be more and more involved. Caroline took care of Lizzie. As the more extravagant twin, Lizzie was more prone to anxiety and temper tantrums, and Caroline, as her mom, was the only one who could really calm her down. Klaus, in turn, held Josie's hand through the airport. While hyperactive, Josie was a lot more manageable, leaving Klaus free to help carry the bags and talk to security and everything.

They were of course flying on a private jet, so it wasn't so stressful when they were actually on the plane. It was a dimly lit plane with calming music playing, per Caroline's preparation. It magically made the girls just as quiet and well behaved. Just as they strapped the, in, Caroline had three big mugs of hot chocolate with cinnamon and nutmeg bought over, and within fifteen minutes the girls were asleep.

"When you have two, you need to pick up a few tricks," Caroline explained quietly, shuffling so that Josie could comfortably rest her head on her mom's arm.

Klaus narrowed his eyes, trying to determine how Caroline knew all of this. He had missed the first eight months of Hope's life, and was again absent while she grew from two-years-old to seven. Only recently had he been reunited with her. Hayley knew every trick to manipulating Hope's emotions and behaviour, and Caroline seemed to have the same talent, only with two (two, for crying out loud) five-year-olds. While he marvelled at the strong women he knew, he couldn't help but feel jealous.

Once the girls had truly drifted off, the adults bought their phones out, choosing to text each other in order to not disturb the girls.

Klaus: _You'll have to teach me those parenting tactics._

Caroline: _I love how you are with the girls. Would never have suspected that when we met. You were so different back then._

Klaus: _I wasn't._

Caroline: _You were. I used to be so terrified of you. Now, seeing you hold hands with my Josie… I don't think she's ever been safer._

Klaus: _Well, I had a good partner._

Caroline: _What is Hayley doing?_

Klaus leaned over to look at Hayley's phone, cringing slightly, before texting back: _Pinterest._

Caroline: _Haha! Such a mom._

Klaus: _So you don't have Pinterest?_

Caroline: _No._

Klaus: _So_ missmysticmom _isn't you?_

He watched her carefully as she read, and sniggered when she shot an outraged look over the top of her smart phone.

Caroline: _Okay fine! I use it sometimes to save some recipes._

Caroline: _And occasionally I get some good tips for décor. Having twins who share a room is difficult._

Klaus: _And a yoga board, healthy eating board, parenting tip board? That all just appeared._

Caroline: _…leave me alone. I'm a mom, I need Pinterest. Besides, why are you social media stalking me? Do you fancy me or something?_

Now it was Klaus's turn to shoot her a mock-outraged look, making her giggle.

Caroline: _What's Hayley's username?_

Klaus: mamawolf123

Caroline: _Of course._

#

When they landed in New Orleans, they went straight into Rousseau's so they could have a drink and go over some rules with the girls. Seeing Caroline in his favourite restaurant felt surreal to Klaus. She looked so out-of-place. Of course, she didn't act like a tourist, and she had been there before while he was away. He'd pictured it so many times that the reality seemed a bit underwhelming. She didn't float in wearing wings and supporting a halo, she didn't magically fix all his problems. She just existed.

That was good enough.

Once they picked a table, Caroline ordered an extra drink, making both Klaus and Hayley frown.

"Bonnie's meeting us here," Caroline explained with a shrug.

"Bennett?" Klaus confirmed with a scowl.

"Yes, Bennett," Caroline said, rolling her eyes. "She's staying in New Orleans."

"Why?"

"Because you and your family finally left," Caroline explained, shrugging her shoulders. "She likes this city, the witches adore her, and she doesn't have to worry about vampires asking for favours because she's finally not the only witch."

Klaus scoffed. He had noticed, when he lived in Mystic Falls, how often Bonnie was asked to save the day, and how rarely anyone but herself stepped up to fix her own problems. He had been guilty of that, to be fair, but he wasn't supposed to be her friend.

"We will be keeping a Mikaelson representative in the city," he informed her, "to protect our home and keep us updated."

"Yeah, apparently Bonnie and Freya are good friends," Caroline said.

"Freya's moving to Lebanon with her girlfriend. Kol will be filling in for a while."

Caroline paled when he said that. "Ah. I don't suppose he'll be friendly with Bonnie, will he?"

Klaus shook his head, slowly. "No, probably not."

As they were talking, the twins jumped up and ran off, spotting their aunt in the crowd, and Caroline got up to join them.

While they were away from the table, Klaus turned to Hayley. "I'm willing to bet that Kol and Bonnie get overly friendly, in fact."

Hayley raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that bet. Our usual wager?"

"Deal," Klaus agreed and they shook hands on it.

Caroline returned to the table with Bonnie and her girls. The Bennet witch, much like Caroline, has grown up quite a lot since Klaus last saw her.

"You must be Hope Mikaelson," Bonnie guessed, holding her hand out to his daughter. "I've heard a lot about you."

Hope smiled proudly and took Bonnie's hand.

"How are you enjoying your first Mardi Gras?" Hayley asked, sliding the Malibu across the table for Bonnie. "I remember finding mine overwhelming."

"Well, we had a lot going on back then," Klaus reminded her, moving Hope onto his lap so Bonnie would have enough room to sit down. Hayley's first Mardi Gras took place when they had to hide their daughter from the world, so the music and dancing was a bit unwelcome at the time.

"I'm having fun," Bonnie claimed. "Although I feel like such a tourist."

"How long are you planning on staying?" Caroline asked.

Bonnie shrugged. "I'm not sure. While I love you and everyone in Mystic Falls, I've been here for a few months and it already feels much more like home. I think I'm going to stay for a while."

"Another wonderful thing about New Orleans!" Hayley exclaimed. "There's room for everyone."

"Are you guys excited to be back?" Bonnie asked Klaus and Hope, who nodded enthusiastically. "Care, what about you? This is your first Mardi Gras as well. I forgot you've never actually been a local."

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked.

"Well, the six of you look like such a family," Bonnie mused, looking around the table. "I forgot that it's less than a year in the making."

Hayley and Caroline smiled at each other, but Klaus didn't react.

"How about the two of you go and explore Mardi Gras? Hayley and I can take the kids somewhere a bit more quiet before the real chaos breaks out?" Klaus offered. He knew Caroline wanted to spend time with her friend.

"I have a better idea," Bonnie said, clearly believing that Caroline would rather spend time with someone else. "I'll look after Lizzie and Josie, catch up with my nieces a bit. Caroline, do you mind Klaus's company over mine?"

So Caroline and Klaus walked through the streets of New Orleans. He took her to his favourite bars and the best corners for street musicians. They stopped in the French Quarter, where Mardi Gras really shined.

"Is everything okay?" Caroline asked when they came to a halt. "You've been a little off since we got here."

Klaus smiled at her concern, but shrugged it off. "It's nothing."

"No, it's not nothing," she exclaimed, outraged. "Talk to me."

Klaus paused, considering his answer very carefully before replying. "For the last year, with you and Hayley, our children in Mystic Falls, I thought I finally had what I always wanted. A family. A family that included you. Being back here, however, has reminded me of an aching want that I can't fill, and never will."

"Your brothers and sisters?" Caroline guessed.

"Partly, yes. But…" Klaus trailed off, watching an artist paint. His fingers itched to pick up some brushes and paint with him, showing his soul through his art and connecting with another person. But he didn't have any paint on him, so he would need to use his words. "Innocence."

"Innocence?" Caroline repeated.

"When I had my siblings with me, we could all forgive each other for our cruelty," he continued. "But I see innocence in you, in Hayley, in Alaric and the girls. I have enemies, everywhere, that will never stop coming for me, and for Hope. I don't think anyone in Mystic Falls sees that. I've never been more vulnerable, because I don't just have to protect Hope, I have to protect Lizzie and Josie, as well. They'll come for them. You should know that. If I stay-"

"You're thinking of leaving us?" She interrupted, her face falling tragically. He recalled all the times she told him to go, to never come back, and now, she was asking him to stay.

"Not permanently," he reasoned. "Perhaps I should be the one rooted in New Orleans."

Caroline sighed, considering this as much as he was. She was a parent as well, and if it involved keeping her girls safe, she wasn't going to dismiss his concerns. "I don't know, Klaus. Josie has never looked safer than when you held her hand."

"She's not safe."

"She's _never_ been safe," Caroline informed him, shrugging lightly, but burying the emotion behind the words. It was a horrible feeling, knowing your child was in danger. "But I think you'll be the best person to protect her. And Lizzie, and Hope."

There was another pause. The artist bought a bold shade of red into the abstract painting. Klaus thought back to when he stood close to that spot, watching another artist. It was the night he learned he was to be a father. He felt the red then, as he did now. Panic. Anger. Want. Love.

"You were right," he allowed, after a moment. "I have changed. Hope changed me. You changed me. And eight years ago, near this street corner, I met a woman and we mused about art. And she changed me as well."

"Ooh, another blonde?" Caroline teased. Klaus almost laughed, but instead held a guilty smile. "You have a type?"

"She was a psychologist," he said, quickly, "and she made me a better version of myself. I promised to carry her with me forever." Caroline smiled at this and nodded, but Klaus noticed the slight tension in her jaw. "Don't be jealous sweetheart, she's dead."

Her face fell then, and she turned back to face him. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you," he accepted. "The man that I've become… he needs to protect his littlest wolf. And his littlest witches. I think the best way to do that is in New Orleans."

Caroline sighed, clearly irritated that he hadn't changed his mind. "Maybe," she allowed. "I guess we don't know for sure yet. Look, I have had an absent dad and that really sucked. So I think if you want to avoid Hope seeing a psychologist, you should try and avoid leaving unless you have to."

She clearly had a point, and Klaus knew it would be difficult for Hope. But he would rather be a dead-beat father than one that endangered his child.

Caroline watched the artist with him for a few more minutes, and he allowed his mind to wander. If she had been there five years ago, at a simpler time, he would have had everything. Power, family, the world at his feet. He wouldn't be questioning any of it. It seemed as though one luxury was introduced as another was taken away. But still, having Caroline by his side in the French Quarter was a dream.

"A minute ago you referred to me as your family," Caroline said, quietly, leaning her head on his shoulder. "And earlier, Bonnie said the same thing. I kind of need that. So… please don't leave me now."

#

Hayley flew out to Mystic Falls a few hours later. Hope had come and enjoyed the celebrations, and now she was tired. Caroline and the girls would be leaving the morning after. Klaus hadn't booked his flight yet.

Kol arrived during the evening, trying his best to avoid the party. While Kol was as wild and rowdy as one man could be, he wasn't the biggest fan of New Orleans, or it's celebrations. Not in recent years anyway. So he found Klaus in the Abattoir, with a bottle of bourbon. Caroline was in the shower after putting the twins to bed.

"Evening, brother," Kol greeted as he joined Klaus on the couches. "How's the wife and kids?"

Klaus growled, lowly. "I'm not in the mood, Kol," he claimed.

He should be a lot happier. Elijah, Freya, Rebekah and Kol had taken the curse of the Hollow, none of them could be with each other or with Hope. Klaus was the only one with the luxury of seeing any of his siblings. And he hadn't seen Kol in months. He should be a lot happier.

"Uh oh," Kol teased. "Who's on the chopping block tonight?"

Klaus scowled. "No one."

"Then why are you in such a piss?" Kol demanded. "It's a party, Nik. Lighten up."

There was a short pause as Kol poured himself a drink and kicked his feet up on the dining table. "We're bunking with Caroline and her children tonight," Klaus said, more as a conversation starter than anything else.

"Yes, I met those rats earlier this afternoon," Kol mused. "With their Aunt Bonnie. When you asked me to babysit this swamp you didn't tell me there was going to be such a drastic witch problem."

Klaus smirked, remembering his bet with Hayley. "Be nice to her," he encouraged.

"Why should I?"

"Because she's Caroline's friend."

Kol raised an eyebrow. "Are the two of you finally knocking boots, then?"

Klaus finished his drink and considered how simple that would be. "No," he said, lowly. "We're friends. Besides, there are children involved. Apparently, being a parent sets some new boundaries."

"Ah, I see," Kol said, shrinking back in his chair a little bit. "If you had to choose between Caroline or Camille, who would you-"

"Kol!" Klaus interrupted, snarling. Kol was on very thin ice tonight. Perhaps there would be a head on the chopping block after all.

"Well, it's just that you pine after Caroline for years, just to then say some bullshit about being friends," Kol explained, frowning. "Forgive me for being a little intuitive." He shrugged, as if it was no big deal.

"Camille's dead," Klaus reminded him. "Besides. I loved Caroline long before I met Camille."

"You love her?" Kol asked. "Then why are you just _friends_?"

There was another pause as Klaus helped himself to another drink. He looked around the Abattoir courtyard and pictured Freya coming home for the party, her cheeks red and her smile blinding. He pictured Rebekah and Marcel, sat at the bar, greeting Freya home with another drink. He saw Elijah, sat with himself and Kol, toasting to another great Mardi Gras. He pictured Hayley coming downstairs and scolding them all for being so loud when she'd just put Hope to bed. But none of that could be true. They were all worlds apart, all cursed and separated.

Klaus gestured around the empty home.

"I did this, Kol, I did all of this," he explained. "For a thousand years, everybody can agree, I was a selfish, cruel and manipulative bastard. And many great people over the last ten years have changed the way I see the world and the way I see my family. But because of me, my family will never be safe. We all managed to come together to protect Hope. But now, on my own, I am responsible for Lizzie and Josie as well. One child was manageable. Three is… too much. I'm not courting Caroline because I know the best thing to do by her and her children is to leave them."

Kol listened and slowly nodded, surely recalling all the times Klaus had daggered him, remembering how it was Klaus's enemies that cost him Davina.

"You're right, you were a selfish prick," he claimed. "The thing is Klaus, it's no secret that you fancy Caroline Forbes. I've been travelling, I've met some of your enemies, and they know about the Salvatore School, they know about the baby vampire that runs it, and they know that you have a thing for her. Leave now, it won't make a difference. People aren't going to come for you, because you can't be killed. They're smart enough to take the people you love. The best thing you can do for them is protect them."

Klaus sighed. Perhaps Kol had a point. He would never say that aloud, of course.

"Why are you being polite and tolerable?" Klaus asked with a grimace. "How much have you had to drink?"

"You met a woman who changed you," Kol explained with a shrug. "I met a woman who changed me."

They shared one final drink in honour of Davina Claire.

* * *

 **AN: So who do you guys want next? Kol, Rebekah or Elijah? Don't forget to review! -Izzy**


	6. Rebekah I Caroline II

**AN: Thank you for all the positive reviews. I'm glad you aren't pissed that I'm a fan of Hayley and will write good things for her. This one's a combo of two chapters, both of which only had one small purpose so made sense together. Hope you guys enjoy.**

* * *

 **Rebekah**

For years, love had escaped her. Whether is be caused by their flight from Mikael, Klaus's cruel hand or her own daft tongue, she had lost every man and woman she had fallen in love with. And in the year 2019, a thousand years into her life, it took shutting the whole world out, cutting ties with her siblings and moving somewhere new, to finally finish a love story.

Marcel had followed her to New York and taken her to operas, theatre, movies, concerts, the finest restaurants, the most prestigious clubs, the sleaziest bars. For the first time in two hundred years, she managed to flaunt her relationship out in public. To say: "This man? He's mine. And I love him."

Everything she'd wanted in centuries.

So, when he sat her down in their home and presented her with a champagne glass, the drawing of the house he'd designed for them, the sword she'd duelled him with centuries ago, a beautiful white dress she'd once called hideous, and an extravagant engagement ring, she had said yes before he could even finish his proposal.

"Rebekah Mikaelson," he had said, getting down onto one knee, "delicate as lace, elegant as a fine home, tough as polished steel, and love of all my lives. Will you marry me?"

She didn't even need his envelopes containing her possible answers. She simply fell into his arms and sobbed yes.

Which brought her here. Her wedding day.

She had planned many of these days during the course of her life, but none had ever come this close to being real. She was sat in her room at the Plaza, staring at the up-do that her stylist had perfected, looking for a problem that wasn't there.

She poured another glass of champagne and made a silent toast to all the lovers she'd lost. Marcel was better than them, anyway. It was her family she truly missed. Only Klaus would be coming. That simply wasn't right.

There was a gentle knock on the door and Josh Rosza peered in, giving her a cheery grin.

"Happy wedding day!" He wished, letting himself in. She stood up from her chair to give him a brief hug, feeling awkward in nothing but her kimono. "Just went to see Marcel and you should know he's totally fine. No cold feet or anything. That is one chill dude."

Rebekah's face fell at the idea of Marcel not being there. She was nervous enough herself, she needed his hand to hold. Not a missing groom. Then she realised that Josh was probably just messing with her. Sometimes it took her a minute to understand his twenty-first century club-kid humour.

"Glad to hear it," she decided, smiling. "Thank you for flying in, Josh."

"You're totally welcome," he claimed with a nod. "Wouldn't miss it."

Josh was shortly followed in by Vincent and Bonnie. Vincent politely shook her hand but it was no secret that he wasn't a fan a vampires and just a friend of Marcels. Bonnie hadn't seen Rebekah since high school and had only met Marcel once in NOLA as far as Rebekah knew, but she looked divine in an orange silk dress and handed her a delicately wrapped present.

"This is from Kol," Bonnie explained as she handed it over. "We're neighbours."

Rebekah narrowed her eyes, wondering why Josh or Vincent couldn't have brought it over, but Josh gave her a cheeky wink and Rebekah decided that it was a question for another day.

Shortly into the conversation, the door opened again and Keelin came bouncing in excitedly. She landed in Rebekah's embrace and the women held each other there for a minute. Finally, someone who felt like family.

"Hi, sweetie, how are you doing?" Keelin asked when they finally pulled apart.

"Nervous," she admitted, as Josh, Bonnie and Vincent excused themselves. "Missing everyone. But overall, it's the happiest day of my life."

"Well, it's only going to get better," Keelin insisted, optimistically. "We've got something really special planned in about two hours."

"Does it involve everyone looking at me while I try not to cry?" Rebekah asked. "Or… fall?" She hadn't tripped in a thousand years, but if there was a deity who would punish her for her sins, she was sure they would make her fall in front of hundreds of people.

Keelin laughed. "Something like that. And marrying the best thing that ever happened to you."

Rebekah gasped slightly when she heard it phrased like that. Marcel was truly a gift that she didn't deserve and she suddenly felt a little overwhelmed.

"You are so sweet," she commented. "My sister is very lucky to have you."

"Tell her that," Keelin mused. "Wouldn't kill her to say it every now and again. Now: Take off that kimono."

Rebekah frowned. "Um, it's Freya you're dating. Not me."

Keelin rolled her eyes. "I want to see you in your dress!"

"Really? It's not too early?"

"No!" The werewolf insisted. "No, it's fine. I'm surprised you didn't sleep in it last night."

"It's taken all of my strength to wait until now," Rebekah claimed, excitedly bouncing to the closet and getting the dress out. It was a sheath figure with the illusion of a fishtail flair towards the bottom. It was sleeveless, with a sweetheart neckline and intricate lace floral details. "What do you think?"

Keelin studied it for a minute. "I think it's beautiful. But… is it too late to take your hair down?"

"No," Rebekah said, sitting back down at the vanity table. "Do it!"

Keelin helped her style her hair into thick ringlets that framed her face. The dress was simple, so she had room to let her hair down. Keelin was definitely right.

Soon after they were finished, the door opened again with a quick nod and Klaus finally joined her, followed by Hayley, Caroline and her well-behaved kids.

The last time (and first time) Rebekah had seen Lizzie and Josie, they'd been hyper and ran all over the place, but now they were perfectly calm and well mannered. They gave Rebekah a bouquet of flowers and said: "Congratulations, Auntie Bex!"

They'd heard Hope refer to her as that and somehow it had stuck. Rebekah didn't mind at all, they were sweet girls and she loved being an auntie.

"Hi!" Rebekah greeted, straightening up and giving Caroline a hug. "Thank you for coming!"

"Of course," Caroline said, sweetly. While Hayley greeted Keelin, Rebekah embraced her brother.

"I'm glad one of you made it," Rebekah admitted, sinking a little in his arms. "How's my lovely niece?"

Klaus sighed. "Upset she can't be here. It's a difficult thing to explain to an eight-year-old. But she loves you. Alaric's taking care of her."

"I wish she was here," she said, sighing.

Eventually, Klaus and Caroline took the girls to get ready, and Keelin went to find Vincent. Rebekah finally found the embrace of Hayley's arms and kissed her best friend, her sister, on the cheek.

"I remember when this was my wedding," Hayley mused, helping herself to a glass of champagne, "and I told you Marcel was still single…"

"I remember that too," Rebekah said with a smile. "You saw it coming."

"I think we all did," Hayley admitted. "So, you nervous?"

The bride huffed and shook her head, awkwardly. "Less nervous than sad. I wish everyone could be here."

The brunette set her glass down and took Rebekah's hands. "I know it sucks that your siblings can't be here. That Hope can't be here. I also know you're going to be making a big promise in a couple of hours. So right now, I wanted to make one to you. It sucks that I couldn't be your maid of honour, but I will _always_ be your family. I will be your sister when you need a friend. I will be your brother when you need someone to stand up for you. I will be you mother if you ever need guidance. I will be your wife if you ever need someone just to love you unconditionally. I know I'm a whole country away, but I hope you know that it's really just a phone call. And I'm here."

The last little bit was barely more than a whisper, because Hayley was fighting back tears. Rebekah was too when she heard the little speech and the friends hugged, tightly.

"Is it too late to marry you, instead?" Rebekah asked.

Hayley laughed, kissing Rebekah on the cheek. "You wish. I just… I do love you."

"I love you too," Rebekah promised.

Finally, Klaus returned and Hayley ducked out so they could have their moment. He was holding a laptop in one hand, which he set up on the vanity table. "One thing is missing," he mused as he pressed a few buttons.

Images of their family appeared on the screen, on Skype. Freya, Kol and Hope were dressed up as if for a wedding, with bouquets of lilies behind them.

"Hi everyone!" Rebekah greeted, hiding her sobs behind laughs. She sat back at the table with Klaus's hand on her shoulder, comfortingly. "I'm sorry you couldn't be here. You all look great."

"You look beautiful, Rebekah," Freya said, looking as though she might cry through the screen.

"Yeah, you clean up nicely, Bekah," Kol agreed, straightening his bowtie in the monitor.

She shook her head, laughing and turned to Hope's precious little face. "Dad told me you wanted to be here," she said. "I wanted you here to. You know that I love you very much."

"I love you too, Auntie Bex," Hope said, beaming. "Always and forever."

"Always and forever," Rebekah, Freya, Klaus and Kol repeated, lovingly. "All of you mean everything to me," Rebekah added. "I love you all, so much." She clutched Klaus's hand, trying desperately not to cry.

"Congratulations, sister," Kol said, sincerely for once. "No one deserves this more than you."

After a few minutes of crying and little declarations of love, they eventually hung up. Clinging to the promise that everything would be recorded for them to watch. Apparently, Caroline would be doing something called a livestream, so they would all be watching in real time.

Klaus left too, giving her a kiss on the cheek and letting her get her make up ready again, tears having stained it all.

She was overwhelmed with all of her visitors. Never had she had so many people who loved her in one place at one time.

She was still nervous. Sat at that dressing table, she felt like a little helpless girl and she didn't even know why. She didn't want anything more than to be married to Marcel Gerard.

She thought she finally had a minute to herself again, but there was one more person who came to see her. The last person she ever thought would walk through the door.

In stilettos, a body con dress, and shorter hair than the last time Rebekah had seen it: Katherine Pierce had the nerve to walk into her dressing room.

"What the hell?" Rebekah demanded, growling, getting to her feet. The bitch. She'd asked her for a simple favour almost a year ago and apparently now she couldn't shake her.

"Relax, please," Katherine requested, leaning against the doorframe. "Don't make a scene. If Klaus finds out I'm here… Well, he can't kill me but it will be unnecessary drama."

"Why are you here?" Rebekah demanded.

"The same reason Bonnie's here," Katherine explained, simply. "Because your brother can't be. I'm here on Elijah's behalf."

Rebekah scoffed. "Elijah doesn't even remember me," she reminded the doppelganger with a scowl. "And as for you. I told you that I didn't want you to remain in contact with him. I told you I would tell Klaus-"

"Yeah, he'll kill me," Katherine mused. "I get it. But you can either make a scene, or you can listen. I told Elijah about Klaus. I told him everything. I'm not trying to manipulate him. I told him about you. And how much you love him. And he wrote this." She pulled a letter out of her bag and handed it to Rebekah. "He wants you to be happy."

She turned on her heel, having said her part. But she did turn back at the door, just before leaving.

"Have a good marriage, Rebekah," she wished.

Part of Rebekah wanted to chase her down but the other half didn't want blood on her dress. Perhaps her wedding should be a day of peace. Besides, the letter was too compelling to put to one side. Gulping, she peeled away the envelope.

 _Dear Rebekah,_

 _I'm sure receiving a letter from your brother on the day of your wedding must seem like a fairly regular scenario for you. Katerina has told me that she's never seen love like the bond you and I shared, and I'm led to believe that you are a dear sister and kind person. So, I count myself very unfortunate for not remembering you._

 _Eternity is a long burden to bare, so finding someone you want to spend its entirety with is a wonderful gift. I truly hope Marcellus and yourself share a wonderful marriage, a happy home, and treasured memories._

 _I hope one day I will meet you again, and share in your happiness._

 _Yours,_

 _Elijah_

Rebekah sat the letter on the table and let one tear fall onto the paper. Elijah seemed happy. Much like himself. He had said Rebekah was kind, and knew that they loved each other. Katherine was being honest with him. As much as she could be. He wasn't being manipulated.

Elijah was safe, and he was happy.

She wasn't nervous anymore.

 **Caroline**

Walking into the Plaza from the car, Caroline felt so many emotions. First of which was the anxious twitching of her fingers to fix something. To shout at the staff, organise the walk, make sure everyone was dressed. But this wasn't her wedding and she wasn't in the wedding party. She was simply there as a guest.

Her daughters, however, were flower girls and she had spent the morning going over the routine with them and making sure they looked perfect so as far as everyone else was concerned, she'd done her bit.

The second thing she felt was luxurious. Klaus thanked the chauffeur, and the dark BMW drove off. They'd checked into the hotel earlier in the afternoon, but Klaus had taken her and her girls out to sight-see in New York city. She wasn't dressed for the wedding, but she knew her dress was waiting upstairs.

The third thing was nerves. Marcel and Rebekah had invited two-hundred guests. Marcel's vampire community, old friends over the years, vampires and witches and werewolves and humans and all of them knew Klaus. And they were all whispering about the blonde girl on his arm.

Finally, comfort. She found comfort in Klaus's hand on the small of her back, in the sight of a crowd parting for him and knowing that no one would insult or offend her with him around. Comfort in knowing that with him she wasn't just safe but powerful.

They went upstairs to the suite where they found Hayley in her lime green bridesmaids dress. Caroline got the girls dressed in their similar green flower girl dresses, Klaus put on his tuxedo, and Caroline her dress.

She'd bought it early for herself, before Klaus had a chance to intervene and buy her something extremely over-the-top.

She'd chosen a pale pink silk dress by Dolce and Gabbana (okay, it was over the top when _Klaus_ did it, but Caroline was allowed to compel herself designer stuff!) which clung to her curves and came down to below her knee. She paired it with pale heels and let her hair fall simply in bouncy curls around her shoulders.

They paid a quick visit to Rebekah, just to let her know that they were all ready to go.

The last time Rebekah had met Lizzie and Josie that had been a year younger and a lot more hyperactive. But Caroline had since raised her girls to be calm and well behaved.

"Congratulations, Auntie Bex!" They said, handing her the bouquet of flowers they'd bought earlier that day. They'd heard Hope refer to her as that and somehow it had stuck. Rebekah didn't seem to mind. Caroline suspected she missed being an aunt to Hope and had taken her twins as her nieces.

"Hi!" Rebekah greeted, straightening up and giving Caroline a hug. "Thank you for coming!"

"Of course," Caroline said, embracing the older vampire. They used to be feuding enemies in Mystic Falls, but now life around them had changed so much. They had grown to respect and even care about each other.

Rebekah moved on to Klaus and Caroline gave Keelin a quick hug as well. Hayley stayed behind to have her best friend talk with Rebekah and Klaus went to find Marcel. In turn, Caroline went back with her girls to make sure they had their flower baskets ready and to find Bonnie at the aisle, helping Keelin and the staff sort everyone into their seats.

"Hey!" Caroline greeted, excitedly running into her friend's arms. "So, how about this set up, huh?"

"Don't criticise the wedding, Care," Bonnie ordered, shaking her head at Caroline's judgemental eyes. "You'll get to make all the decisions when it's your turn."

Caroline groaned. "Ugh, been there. Done that. I'm not interested in doing it all again."

Bonnie laughed a little as she raised her eyebrow. "Oh _please_. I know you. I know the divorce hurt you, but you're probably already planning how to make the second wedding bigger and better."

"I'm not!" Caroline exclaimed. "Jeez, you make me sound like a washed-up soccer mom. I'm… happy. I've got my girls, I've got Alaric and the school to run, I've got you and Hayley and-"

"Klaus?" Bonnie guessed. "He has a part of your happiness, right?"

Caroline paused before nodding. "Yeah. He does. He's one of the best people in my life right now. He's… more than I thought he was. But I am not looking to get married any time soon. Probably for the next century. I have forever, why do I need to rush things?"

"Because you love him," Bonnie suggested, obviously.

Caroline gaped. She had never said the L word with Klaus and she once promised herself that she never would. But the last year with him in Mystic Falls and their families… "I… yeah, I guess I do. Are _you_ seeing anyone?"

Bonnie scrunched her nose and shook her head. "I don't kiss and tell."

"But?" Caroline prompted.

"But nothing. I'm happy too."

Caroline scowled, wanting to ask why she was here on Kol's behalf, but stopped herself. Bonnie would tell her when she was ready. In the meantime, she helped put everyone in their seats, glad to be bossing people around again. They stopped when they saw three guests, they hadn't been expecting.

"Hey!" Bonnie greeted Damon and Elena excitedly, giving them a big hug. Caroline greeted Elena similarly but ignored both Salvatore brothers. Bonnie still hated Stefan for Enzo, Caroline still reeling from the divorce.

"Hey guys," Elena said, kissing both her friends on the cheek. "How have you been?"

Caroline and Bonnie exchanged a look with each other before promising Elena to catch her up later.

"It's good to see you, Care," Stefan said as Bonnie took Damon and Elena to their seats. "The girls have gotten so much bigger."

Caroline looked over her shoulder to Lizzie and Josie, who were almost seven now, and nodded. "Yeah, I guess they have. How have you been?"

"Good," Stefan said. "Yeah, I'm good. You?"

She smirked and straightened out her two-thousand-dollar dress. "I'm good. I think you're seated next to Damon if you want to follow Bonnie."

She sent him on his way and scowled to herself, irritated by the run in. But seconds after, she felt that familiar and comforting hand slip into hers and pull her away.

"You look dapper," she commented, following Klaus. He lead her to a secluded hallway made of marble, dimly lit and spacious so everything they said echoed.

"You look exquisite," he returned, kissing the hand he was holding. When they came to a stop, he put his other hand on his waist, making her giggle and look around.

"What are you doing?"

"We haven't danced together in almost a decade," Klaus reminded her, leading her into a waltz. "We may need some practise.

"I didn't realise so many people would be watching us," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder and letting him twirl her around.

"Well, we've had two centuries of Marcel and Rebekah," he said, bored, "and sure, people will be asking about Hope and if it's really true that I have a daughter."

"And we're answering no," Caroline remembered what Klaus said at the briefing, about wanting to keep Hope on the down-low, "she's Hayley's daughter and Hayley's our family friend."

"Thank you." Klaus nodded.

"Oh, but Bonnie bought a gift on Kol's behalf," Caroline reminded him with a shrug. "That's bound to take some of the attention off us?"

"Perhaps," he allowed. "But everyone will just assume Kol's seduced a Bennett witch, only the inner circle will truly be mortified. I doubt they'll be of much discussion."

She nodded, slowly. "Okay, so we're still important news?"

"I believe so."

Caroline smirked and leaned in a little closer, coming into contact with Klaus's chest. "Then lets give them something to really talk about," she suggested, smiling as she looked up at him.

He smiled as well, leaning in himself. They danced silently for a minute, not even the sound of music reaching their space. He twirled her under his arm and only when she collided back with his chest did he speak again.

"I heard you had an awkward run-in with Stefan and the rest of the band," he teased.

Caroline laughed, shaking her head and repeating the word 'band' under her breath. "Yeah. I haven't been to a wedding since my own. He's still following Elena and Damon. I mean, what a miserable way to spend your life." She realised how petty that sounded and shook it off. "I'm sorry, that came out really horribly. I guess it's not my business what he does."

"But you're right," Klaus said. "Stefan's a complete idiot."

"Oh?"

He hesitated, finding what he meant before explaining. "I have lived a thousand years, I have loved recklessly, and I have felt pain beyond description. And if I only had one life, I can say with certainty that I would spend it with you."

A reply didn't come to her, and no more words came to him. They both leaned in closer, stopping an inch away from each other. They enjoyed the intimacy of being so close to each other, but not quite touching. As soon as she went to close the gap, a door opened nearby and Bonnie re-joined them.

"Hey – sorry – It's about to start," Bonnie said.

Caroline rushed back in with her friend to take their seats in the front row. Music played around them, not the wedding march but another beautiful song.

Lizzie and Josie were the first to walk down the aisle. Caroline watched them intently, and they didn't mess anything up. They sprinkled the flowers perfectly, just like they did at her wedding. She winked at them as they reached the arch, where Marcel stood waiting. He gave them both a little high five which Caroline thought was cute, and then they went to sit with their mother.

Keelin and Vincent walked next, both wearing something green. They shared a joke or two with each other down the aisle, both smiling happily and sharing the moment until they made it to the end. Vincent stood behind Marcel and Keelin stood the other side.

Then it was Hayley and Josh's turn, again both in green. The crowd watched them as Josh said something probably silly to Hayley, who shot him an almost disturbed look before laughing. They made it again to the head of the ceremony, standing on either side of the arch.

Then everyone stood and turned to watch. Klaus stood between the rows of people, Rebekah's arm linked through his. She looked beautiful. Elegant and vintage, like a precious glass doll. He looked at her with so much love and she did the same. When they reached the end of the aisle, he shook Marcel's hand before letting Rebekah take them.

It was a beautiful ceremony. Rebekah was a mess the entire time, and even Marcel cried a little. They made their declarations of love, slipped a ring on each other's fingers, said 'I do'.

Caroline wondered if she'd be up their with Klaus one day. Would it take two centuries like Marcel and Rebekah? Five? If you were going to promise your eternal life to another, how long was a reasonable amount of time to wait?

When promising one life, it only takes a few years to know for sure. But forever was a whole different kind of life. A while different commitment.

At the reception, everyone danced with everyone. Caroline noted Klaus with Hayley, Rebekah, and even Bonnie at one point which made her want to spit out her champagne. He danced with her daughters individually, teaching them how to waltz. Caroline danced with Marcel at one song.

"Thank you for letting Lizzie and Josie be a part of our day," he said, kindly as they waltzed. "And thanks for coming."

"Of course," she returned, smiling. "Congratulations."

She danced with the twins as well, twirling them around until they were dizzy and then turning a blind eye as Rebekah gave them a second slice of cake.

Finally, she found Klaus's arms again and they picked up where they left off. Tipsy this time, and laughing for no apparent reason, she leaned into his embrace and ignored all the curious eyes around them.

After the first song she decided she didn't want to hand him over to another partner. So she linked her fingers through his and lead him back into that abandoned hallway, where they could just hear the music and finally they kissed.

They'd only done it once before, in the woods by the Salvatore Boarding House, and that had lead to other things. It was a kiss of lust, passion, danger, scandal and crushing. This kiss was different. She felt it and she knew he did to. This was love.

They didn't notice the curious eyes watching them, of which there were two pairs. Two brunette women, one of which noticed that this could be leverage if she ever needed it. The other, who never thought she would be jealous, found herself aching for what they had.

* * *

 **AN: The next one should either be Kol, or a combination of Klaus and Hayley. Coming soon... -Izzy**


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